Mini the Minx
by HyperFitched
Summary: AU.  Mini McGuinness encounters the IHAFICC universe, and the things she discovers there will change her life forever.  A brief story of one woman's eventful journey towards love.  Three shot.
1. Chapter 1

**For the beautiful girl in the bubble room, with all my heart.**

**For Cat, keep fighting lovely.**

**For SJ, hoping to see you soon**

Ibiza

.

"Aw, come on Mins, it'll be brilliant," pleaded Alo. "I bet you'll love it once you're there."

"Seriously, Farmboy, I never really had you down as an art lover," I scoffed.

Alo grinned at the former insult turned term of affection. From somewhat sketchy beginnings when I was trying to be some Beverly Hills type teen bitch, we had fallen into a friendship that had lasted for years. That was the thing about Alo, he was such a happy soul, he never judged you and he was always up for an adventure.

"Please, Mini," he begged, and his puppy dog eyes and rampant enthusiasm were difficult to resist.

"So how do you know this girl again?" I asked him.

"Met her at the theatre," he replied. "Her girlfriend was in some show that Matty was in."

"Matty won't be there, will he?" I blurted, as alarm bells started ringing in my head.

"Seriously Mini, still?" questioned Alo, shaking his head.

I shrugged. I couldn't help it. Even after all this time I still hated him. I know we were all just stupid teenagers, but I could never find it in my heart to forgive him. I guess we were never cut out to be friends. We had only ever been rivals, and that bastard had always seemed to win. He fucked my best friend, he fucked my…

"He's in France," admitted Alo. "I promise you this evening will be strictly Matty free. And there'll be free booze, and lesbians…"

"So, you're not really going for the art, are you?" I challenged him. "More for the free drink and the possibility of hot girls kissing."

"You have a problem with that?" he smirked.

"Not really," I replied. "Count me in."

So that's how I found myself two hours later standing in the middle of some swanky art gallery in Southwark, surrounded by one of the strangest mixtures of people I'd ever encountered. Sure there were a lot of people who looked like they belonged here, but there were also a lot of people who looked like they didn't. Somehow the room was managing to look like a cross between Gay Pride, Glastonbury, X-Games, a Puchdrunk show and a Hoxton art twat's dinner party. There was a time when I would have been intimidated by such surroundings, and attempted to bluff my way out of it by turning on my fake superiority bitch switch, but those days were long gone. Now I just smiled and drank in the colourful culture clash, and silently thanked Alo for dragging me out to this treasure trove. Time to neck a couple of glasses of free wine, and maybe see what this exhibition was all about.

Though I no longer dressed up compulsively, I was glad I had made the effort tonight as I was surrounded by all manner of fantastic outfits. As I approached the table where the alcohol was stashed, to refill the glass I'd only just grabbed and drained my eyes fell upon a woman in a shimmering burgundy full length dress. I couldn't help but stare. Let's face it, she wore that fucking dress for a reason. Even with her back to me, the way the dress clung to her astonishing curves started to spark the now all too familiar stirrings in my body. She would have to have a face like a donkey to quiet them down again. She turned round, having acquired her wine, but I still didn't have much of a chance to asses her face as my eyes became glued to what could only be described as a stupendous cleavage that the owner of the said dress clearly had no qualms about displaying to it's fullest advantage.

"See something you like there, sister?" she challenged me, a delicious hint of a lisp slightly slurring all her sibilants. "Sorry to disappoint you, babes, but I've got a girlfriend."

I managed to drag my reluctant eyes up towards her face, and was immediately hit by a wave of recognition. It seemed she felt the same, and her face crinkled as she frowned at me.

"Hang on a minute," she said. "I know you. Didn't you shag my sister one time?"

.

.

.

Girlcrush. That's what Liv had called it. And that's what I had decided it was. A meaningless crush. The same old adolescent bollocks fuelled by a heady cocktail of hormones, alcohol and drugs. Except that I never really did that much alcohol and drugs, certainly not compared to the others. But I had fallen for her. Franky, that strange little androgynous outsider that I had mercilessly bullied for the first few weeks that I had known her. Because she scared the shit out of me. She was so unknown, and yet at the same time so fucking fascinating. She had overturned my applecart. She had messed with my perfect life. And even though I was such a shit to her, she had treated me with compassion when I was down. In her own quiet way she had ripped away my preconceptions about who I was, and what I wanted from life. I became her unappointed protector, but there was no-one to protect me from her. Ironically, the only thing she did that ever hurt me, was something she couldn't help. I only just managed to stop myself falling apart when she chose him over me. Matty, my fucking Nemesis, with his stupid bug-eyed weirdness that was ultimately more alluring than my plastic prom queen persona. Looking back, I wouldn't have chosen me either, but things were different now.

I couldn't really be her friend after that. Even though I would never have admitted it, she had shaken me up too much just to let it slide. So I convinced myself it was nothing, just a stupid girlcrush. Not like I was gay or anything. Even though sex with Nick had been hideous, and I didn't find myself attracted to any other blokes, that thing with Franky didn't mean anything. It was just a stupid crush. I turned my back on all of it, that last year at college. Boys, girls, whatever… Instead I knuckled down and concentrated on my work, gaining grades far higher than anyone would have expected of me. Sure I was pretty, but having a brain as well? That was beyond the scope of most people's imaginations. And it worked, it worked for a whole year, until Liv insisted on dragging me to Ibiza that summer to 'celebrate our results'.

Unfortunately what 'celebrating our results' meant for her was dragging me off to clubs every night so she could get smashed off her head and hunt down boys to shag. I mean, it's her way and I stopped judging her for it a long time ago, but I failed to see why she needed me to be part of the equation. Every night she would promise me that tonight would just be fun for us girls, and every night I would find myself abandoned just like the night before. Ok, so the clubs were pretty impressive, but I was never that good at socialising on my own, and the prospect of another night fending off lairy lads was depressing beyond all imagination. Which was why I found myself on the terrace of another bar, banging my head against the wall in frustration, until I was interrupted by a voice that turned my blood into liquid honey.

"You know, you might want to stop that before it leads to permanent brain damage," she said.

I turned round to face my would-be saviour, and all the air was sucked out from my lungs. I would have gasped, had it not been impossible through lack of oxygen, but instead I stared wordlessly at her. She was tiny, just like Franky, but there the similarities between them ended. Where Franky was delicate and frail, this girl was powerful and toned. Despite that fact, she was definitely not androgynous, dressed in a tight vest top and short skirt, and with long red hair she oozed femininity, albeit a strong and assured one. And confidence, she was brimming with it. Franky had always seemed so full of self doubt, whereas the vision in front of me looked like she didn't even know the meaning of the word. I still hadn't managed to speak, and the tiny goddess merely raised an amused eyebrow in my direction, but my brain was racing with one pure repeated thought – 'don't let her get away'.

"I…" I stammered hopelessly. Fuck's sake Mini, get a grip.

"Oh god, am I too late?" the redhead said dramatically.

"Wha..?" was my next articulate phrase.

"Prepare for theatre," she said, barking orders to an imaginary nursing team behind her. "We're going to have to operate."

I couldn't help myself but smile.

"Signs of life," she smirked at me. "That's encouraging."

"Just having a moment," I managed to squeeze out, hoping that it would explain why I'd been behaving like a fucked up headcase.

"Boy trouble?" she said sympathetically.

"After a fashion," I replied. "My best mate keeps dragging me out and then fucking off with boys and leaving me."

"Yeah, I know that one," laughed the beautiful stranger.

And God was she beautiful. Probably one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Of course she was pretty, with her flaming red hair, and her delicious brown eyes, her fucking cute nose, her perfectly formed hot body and her decidedly dark and creamy voice, but there was something else. There was something about her, an intensity that almost fucking shone, and it was starting to hypnotise me again when we were interrupted by the whirlwind arrival of another tiny force of nature.

"There you are, Ems. Are you gonna be staying out tonight? Cause I've just been dancing with this well lush lad and….Oh…"

The whirlwind ground to a halt as soon as she noticed me, instantly sizing me up and glancing between me and the redhead. Well, the original redhead that is, cause this girl had the exact same shade of red hair too. They were clearly twins, even in spite of some obvious differences in physique and in dress and attitude. I watched as an unspoken energy began to bristle between them.

"Shit," said the twin. "Oh well, I guess it's your turn."

"Nah, you're cool," shrugged my redhead.

'My' redhead, what?

"It's just he's well ripped and he's flying home tomorrow…"

"It's fine, Katie."

"Are you sure, cause…" said Katie, her gaze flicking over my body.

"I know," smirked Ems (wonder what that's short for). "But there's no rush…"

"If you're sure…" repeated Katie.

"I'm sure," insisted Ems. "You can't play a symphony like it's a pop song. Now go enjoy yourself."

"Thanks Emily," said a relieved looking Katie.

"I'd say give him one for me, but that would be gross," laughed Emily Lovely name, not that I was saying it over in my head or anything.

"Same goes for you," giggled Katie, raising her eyebrows suggestively, before beating a retreat towards her well lush boy. I found myself amused by the sisters' ability to communicate effectively with half-formed sentences and suggestion, but weren't twins supposed to have some kind of telepathy or something? With the departure of the distraction that was Katie, my brain suddenly returned with alarm to its former mission. Don't let her get away, Mini. Strike up conversation. Do it now.

"So, I'm guessing your sister's the one always running off with boys and leaving you alone," I attempted breezily.

"But I'm not alone now, am I?" countered Emily, her voice seeming impossibly more husky, leaving me once again bereft of air.

"So what was that…? What was she…?," I stammered.

I had been convinced that the conversation had been about Katie having the decency to ask her sister if she minded being abandoned, not like Liv who just fucked off anyway.

"We're sharing a room," laughed Emily. "She wanted to check if it was alright to take him back and screw him, but when she saw you she thought she might have been out of luck."

"What do I have to do with it?" I asked in confusion.

"Any time she sees me with a beautiful girl, she thinks I'm going to try to seduce them," smiled Emily warmly.

"Oh…"

Fuck.

"You're gay," I said. Stating the fucking obvious Mini.

"Just a little bit, yeah," smirked the disastrously beautiful redhead.

A confusion bomb of emotion exploded within my body. All those feelings that had been stirred up by Franky, suddenly reannounced themselves with a big fucking rainbow parade. I had been successfully closeting them for a whole year, but now they were suddenly running riot in my blood. It was just a stupid crush. I wasn't really into girls, was I? Then why was I so fucking disappointed that she let her sister have the room? Did she have no plans to seduce me? Did she not find me attractive? But she called me beautiful. Was that just empty flattery? Did she seduce a lot of girls? Why wasn't I one of them? Did I want to be one of them? What the fuck? Get a grip, Mini, come on. I dragged my eyes back up to face her, and she was just standing there with an amused look on her face. God, I wish I had her confidence. One good thing though, she seemed to have no intentions of leaving me, no matter how stupidly I was behaving.

"So, anyway, I appear to be temporarily homeless," she said. "And it looks like your mate has abandoned you. So why don't we make the best of it and form our own little lost girls club. I know some cool places to hang out."

I bet you do, you cool as fuck fuckthing. I nodded enthusiastically back at her in response, stopping myself when I realised I must have looked like a total nerd. I had to be cooler than this, otherwise she was going to realise her mistake and waltz off with some hot girl in a lycra dress. I searched my brain frantically for something to impress her with.

"I've got these," I blurted out, pulling out the bag of pills that Liv had left with me for safe keeping.

"We could get fucked up and have some fun," I added, trying to sound like I did that all the time.

Her eyes had lit up when I'd first brandished the pills at her, but now they harboured disappointment.

"I'd love to," she sighed. "But I can't. I have to work tomorrow, and I just don't metabolise those things quickly enough for me to be alright. Don't let me stop you though."

"Naw, it's fine," I shrugged, the casual nature of my tone, belying my relief. I wasn't really sure I wanted to be that out of control around this woman. "Who needs drugs if the company's good?"

"Exactly," she said confidently. "Fancy a dance?"

She held out her hand, and I took it, allowing her to lead me off the terrace and towards the stairs leading down to the dancefloor.

"I am, by the way," she said, just before the noise got too loud for me to hear her.

"Are what?" I asked.

"Going to try to seduce you."

.

.

.

I looked up and Emily was smirking in bemusement at me again. Glad I was providing this woman with such a constant source of amusement. I had been dancing awkwardly next to her for half an hour as she smouldered her way across the rhythms of the music, attracting attention from men and women alike. The men she mostly kept at a distance, the women she allowed a little closer, but all of them she controlled like a pack of Pavlov's puppies waiting for her to ring their bell. I rolled my eyes as yet another boy approached her with the ridiculous optimism that he stood any kind of chance. Surprisingly, Emily didn't rebuff him at once, letting him slide up against her in an attempt to match the slick sensuality of her moves. If this was her attempt at trying to seduce me, then I was a little confused by her approach. That was until the moment she flashed her eyes at me from the depths of the boy's embrace, and I understood perfectly what she was doing. She was letting me know that she could pretty much have anyone she wanted, but that she had chosen me. It was almost insufferably arrogant, but still it sent shivers ricocheting through my bones. The reality hit me like a slap in the face. If I chose to, I could have sex with this astonishing woman. The thought of it sent a flash of awareness rushing to my groin. Emily was pure temptation, but she also terrified the life out of me.

She shrugged off her suitor, waving him a casual goodbye that clearly told him his fun was over, and danced over towards me. I could vaguely make out her mouthing the words 'hey beautiful', before she placed one arm on my shoulder and one hand on my hip, and started moving in time to my own stilted attempts at dancing. I'd never felt more self-conscious in my life, trying to move in any way this angel could approve of, but Emily decided to put me out of my misery. She drew me closer to her and whispered in my ear.

"Wanna get out of here."

I froze, my rebellious muscles shrieking to a halt against my will. I wanted her, I knew I did, but I was still so fucking scared of taking that first step. My mind flashed back to the words Liv had used when I was trying to work myself up into sleeping with Nick – 'scared little virgin'. Well tonight I felt like that scared little virgin all over again. What if I went with her and it was just as awful as last time? What if I was just fucking useless at sex? Just some fucking loser who was destined to be alone forever.

"Relax Mini, don't look so fucking scared," Emily's disarming voice sounded in my ear like chocolate laced with chilli. Sweetness married to danger in one fatal combination. "I don't go where I'm not invited. I only meant shall we hit another bar. Somewhere more chilled, this club is getting on my tits."

"Ok," I said submissively, already knowing that I would let her take me wherever she wanted to go.

The next place she took me to was a little more off the beaten track. A bar rather than a club and somewhere that looked like it was less for tourists and more for people who lived and worked here. We even managed to grab ourselves a table and two big comfy chairs, and I felt the pressure begin to ease inside my swirling head.

"So you work here?" I asked Emily, when she returned with two exotic looking cocktails.

"For the moment, yeah," she replied.

"Are you like a holiday rep or something?"

"No," laughed Emily. "I'm a performer. Katie and I are doing a stint at that club we were at. In fact I'd just finished our last slot when I found you."

"So are you podium dancers?" I asked, from what I seen of her moves she was good enough to be one, and the twin thing would certainly draw a crowd.

"No, we're aerialists," she corrected.

"What's an aerialist?" I asked.

"Ha ha, tell you what. We're performing again tomorrow. Why don't you come down and find out for yourself?"

For some reason that offer made me feel a whole lot better. There was going to be a tomorrow, and I was going to be part of it for her. I allowed myself to relax into her company for the first time, feeling that she wasn't going to abandon me if I didn't do what she wanted, and losing the desperation not to let her go at all costs. We began to talk easily, somehow slipping quickly past the inanity of small talk into a whole host of larger subjects like art, the environment, politics and religion. I was still intimidated by her, she seemed incredibly knowledgeable about everything, but nowhere near as badly as before. Emily somehow always seemed to sense when I was out of my depth, and took the time to explain what she meant. We must have stayed there for hours, and I found myself lulled into the false sense of security that we were just old friends having a chinwag and setting the world to rights, until I was shaken from that delusion by the arrival an enthusiastically wasted girl in hotpants and a tiny top.

"Hi Emily" she said in delight.

"Hi Suzy," replied Emily calmly.

"What are you up to?" said Suzy.

"Oh, just hanging out," shrugged Emily.

"Great, I'll join you," said Suzy, casting her eyes about for a chair.

Emily flashed her eyes in my direction, and there she was again, the animal, the predator, the danger I had forgotten. And I knew in an instant that this poor girl had fallen victim to her charms.

"Not tonight, Suze,' said Emily kindly. "I'm spending time with Mini tonight."

"Oh," said Suzy, stopping her search for furniture and turning a gaze filled with pure loathing in my direction. "Is that what you call it? Are you going to fuck her too?"

"That's not your concern," replied Emily, but there was no malice in her voice.

"You never called me," said Suzy, her tone switching from angry to pleading.

"I never told you I would," said Emily. "You put your number in my phone and assumed I would. You shouldn't make assumptions about me."

I watched as Suzy's face crumpled in disappointment. She looked devastated. Was that going to be me in two days time – damaged and desperate and willing to make a fool of myself in front of Emily's next conquest? Maybe I should just get up and leave right now.

"I'm sorry you want more from me than I'm prepared to give," said Emily. "But I never make promises that I can't keep."

It was her tone that stopped me from running. Something about the way she spoke to Suzy, made me believe her. I had spent enough time around lads and listened to the contempt with which they spoke about their casual sexual partners, but there wasn't even a hint of that in Emily's exchanges with her lover. I was left with the impression that she had never been anything less than honest with this girl. Suzy's downfall was her own unchained emotions rather than anything Emily had done to her.

"You better watch out bitch," Suzy slurred into my face. "She'll rip your fucking heart out too."

"Only if I let her," I said, more to myself than anyone else, but it was loud enough for Emily to hear. She raised her eyes to meet mine, and a slow smile began to creep across her face. I ignored the unhappy girl between us, and smiled back.

"Let's take a walk," grinned Emily.

.

.

.

"So you're a player then?" I teased her as we walked through the streets of the town. I had no idea where we were going, but I was more than happy to still be with her. We still maintained a healthy distance, even though the urge to touch her was growing within me, and the thrill of being in her presence was lighting dangerous sparks in places I hadn't thought about for a fuck of a long time.

"I'm no fucking girl next door," admitted Emily. "But I see no reason to be cruel."

She was an interesting enigma. I knew she'd have me as soon as look at me, but for some reason I felt safe with her.

"You weren't swept off you feet by Suzy, then?" I teased her.

"Hardly," conceded Emily. "We don't exactly have a lot in common outside of the sex. It was mostly the drugs and the hotpants, if I'm honest."

"Yeah, the hotpants were….tight," I giggled.

"So was she," winked Emily.

My mouth dropped open in mock indignation at the filth falling from Emily's butter wouldn't melt pink lips, but secretly I loved it. I loved the brazenness and the honesty, and I realised that Emily would never hurt me. The only person who could do that to me would be myself. I felt strangely glad that there had been no drugs to cloud her vision tonight, and that we weren't even that drunk, having spent most of the night talking. On impulse I reached out a hand towards her and she took it. Despite the fact that the night air was still quite warm compared to England, I felt a distinct rise in temperature at her touch. We spent the next few minutes just walking in silence, as I explored that vastly disproportionate sense of pleasure I was feeling just from having this one tiny portion of her flesh in my grasp.

I could smell the sea before I could see it, and I suddenly realised where she was taking me as the first streaks of day light began to wend their way across the sky.

"You haven't really been to Ibiza until you've seen the sunrise on the beach," said Emily, and on impulse I pulled on our joined hands and dragged her into a hug. I was going to have to be careful. If I was going to keep being a slave to my impulses there was only one way this night was going to end. It wasn't a quick release hug, or one of those nervous hugs where you only make contact at shoulder level. It was full length and full body, and I for one had no intention of letting it go. When I hugged Nick I always had the sense that he'd rather just be getting to business. When I hugged Franky I always felt that sense of brittle reserve and a subtle barrier that stopped her ever getting too close. But when I hugged Emily, I just felt… connected. Shit, careful Mini, I warned myself. This is how those girls end up weeping in nightclubs over her. You are not going to be one of those girls. Still, I wasn't exactly in a rush to break the embrace, in fact it was Emily who pulled back first.

"You're really tall," she pondered. "I'm going to have to stand on a box."

"When?" I frowned.

"When I kiss you," she said.

The cheeky smile that accompanied that statement, left me in no doubt that I was going to let her do just that, but I was starting to enjoy playing her game.

"We'll see about that," I said, striding off towards the sea with a true confidence I never usually felt, but that somehow Emily seemed to inspire in me. I could hear her laughing as she chased after me.

"Hold up a minute, Mini," she said pulling me to a halt by a seafront bar. "Won't be a minute."

I watched her disappear round the back of the bar, only to emerge not long afterwards with a glint in her eye and a beer crate in her hands. It made me break out into a genuine laugh.

"Feeling confident are we?" I taunted her, but she didn't rise to my bait.

"Hey, my cards are on the table," she told me. "I want you. I'm just trying to be prepared in case you want me back."

And there it was again, that beautiful honesty. I knew in that moment just exactly how much I did want her back, I just didn't know if I was prepared to let her know it yet.

"Haven't you got a sunrise to show me?" I challenged her.

"But of course, my lady" she said with a flourish. "Follow me."

She led me down the beach. There were plenty of other people around. Gangs of lads and lasses still high and drunk from the night before, some being rowdy and others simply too monged out to be any trouble to anyone. Other couples too, both romantic and sleazy, and the occasional lost and slightly dishevelled individual in amongst it all. But Emily and I kept going until we reached a quieter part of the sands.

"There's nothing quite like the light at sunrise," she said in wonder, her quest to bed me temporarily forgotten as she breathed in the beauty of the scene around her.

And she was right. The first light of the rising sun crept over the horizon, and it's long stretched out horizontal rays swept gloriously across her vibrant hair, and her beautiful flawless skin lighting her up like some sort of celestial being. Emily's eyes swept the horizon, but I couldn't drag mine away from her, and how gorgeous she looked in the first light of the new day.

"You are really fucking beautiful," I whispered breathlessly.

Emily turned towards me.

"So are you," she said.

And despite all the ridiculous diets and the hours that I had spent down the gym, this was the first time that I had felt it. The first time I felt that somebody had said it because they meant it, rather than because they were trying to get into my pants. Emily might be a player, but I knew she wasn't a liar, and she looked so fucking cute still clutching onto that stupid beer crate. Enough was enough.

"Give me that fucking thing," I said, pulling it from her grasp and planting it in the sand in front of me. "Stand on your fucking box and give me a fucking kiss."

"Willingly," she smiled, stepping onto her podium, "But you know you shouldn't really put me on a pedestal."

I smiled at her attempt to relax me, but it was quickly overtaken by the pounding in my chest, as she took hold of my hand and drew me slowly towards her. She closed the space between us and kissed me delicately on the lips, and all hell broke loose in my body. I started shaking, actually fucking physically shaking. I couldn't control it, I wanted her so badly but I was still useless Mini. Still the same scared little virgin terrified of the big bad wolf of sex.

"I'm sorry," I stuttered, fighting the urge to run away. "It's just that I've never…"

"It's ok," said Emily softly. "New things can be scary. You only have to go as far as you want to."

"I've only ever had sex with one other person," I blurted out. "I thought that I loved him. And it was supposed to be wonderful. It was supposed to be beautiful and special, but it was a disaster. And it made me feel cheap and used and I never want to feel like that again. I just…"

I broke down and flung myself against her, clinging onto her through my fear.

"It's ok, it's ok," she soothed. "It's fine if you're not ready…"

"But I am," I protested. "I want you so fucking badly. I'm just scared…"

"Then we'll just have to make sure it's beautiful and special for you this time," she said.

"Are you sure?" I asked her. "I wanted to be so cool, but now I'm just acting like a fucked up idiot."

"You are cool, Mini," she smiled. "You're fucking lovely. And like I said, I don't make promises I can't keep."

She drew me into another delicate kiss, but this time far more lingering. She made no attempt to deepen it, before pulling away and trailing the backs of her fingers down my cheek. She reached down and took both my hands, bringing them up to her mouth and softly caressing my fingers and knuckles with her lips. Her lips were so soft and skilful, I was smacked with the powerful desire to feel them on mine again, but Emily took her time, kissing my forehead, my neck and my cheek with deft elusive touches that set my skin alight. Her hands slid round my back and she drew me slowly towards her, careful not to give me any cause for alarm. Her beautiful brown eyes stared gently into mine, seeking my permission before going any further.

"Please Emily," I whispered. "I need you to show me the ways of the world."

This time she kissed me with parted lips, and I felt my own respond immediately. Still she kept it tender, and I surprised myself by being the first one to reach out for her with my tongue. She accepted me gratefully, opening her mouth and pushing back against me. It wasn't enough, I wrapped my hands into her hair and pulled her closer still, suddenly overwhelmed by the need to taste her. Desire started to rise within me like the oceans at spring tide, dragged along by gravity and compelled by forces as old as life itself. I felt myself hurtling towards the tipping point, and knew that I was about to experience a revolution. I thrust my tongue deeper into her mouth and this time she fought back, making me gasp against her lips. I had never felt like this before. I had never felt _this_. I had never felt this sexual. Here I was kissing a woman I'd only just met on some beach on Ibiza, and yet it felt like it meant so much more than any of the sham relationships I'd indulged in throughout the rest of my teenage years. I could feel Emily starting to get more carried away. Her hands started roaming and she pulled away from my lips only to start planting searching kisses down the length of my neck. Her hand reached under the fabric of my top, slipping round the front of my body in search of my breast.

"Oh fuck," I cried out as her fingers grazed across my nipple sending out urgent messages of need to the space between my legs.

"Too much?" she questioned, withdrawing her hand and looking me in the eyes.

"Not enough," I said insistently, dragging her mouth hungrily back to mine. The fear had been replaced by something much more powerful. "Take me home with you, Emily."

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.

.

"Heads up, Katiekins. Rise and shine. Time to cut your sister a break," said Emily as we unceremoniously barged into their bedroom. We were greeted by a few muffled squeaks and groans coming from under the covers of one of the beds.

"Fair's fair, Katie. You've had your fun," said Emily. "Now it's my turn."

The face of a somewhat bleary looking Katie emerged, took one look at me, and started prodding the large immobile lump next to her.

"What the fuck?" muttered a disgruntled masculine voice.

"We have to get up, dickhead," said Katie. "My sister needs the room for fucking."

I felt myself blushing at Katie's forthright choice of words, but the sympathetic smile I got from Emily made everything alright again. Katie practically dragged the guy from the bed, shoving clothes in his face as she went. He stopped and frowned when he saw the two of us.

"Thought you said she was gonna fuck," he said in confusion.

"Well duh…" said Katie, shoving him towards the door. "She's gonna fuck the gorgeous blonde. And no you can't stay and watch. In fact you can pretty much fuck off now."

And with that she was gone, leaving me alone in the room with Emily, at which point my nerves returned with a vengeance.

"It's ok," said Emily, sensing my disquiet. "You're not under any obligation. You're still the one in control. Though if we don't end up doing anything I might have to fake some sex noises, cause if Katie finds out I chucked her out of bed for no reason, my ass is toast."

"I'm sorry," I said. "You must think I'm such a loser."

"Not at all," she assured me. "Everyone gets nervous their first time."

"Even you?" I questioned.

"Especially me," she laughed. "I was a wreck."

"I find that hard to believe," I told her.

"Oh, I soon got the hang of it," she smiled.

And there it was again, that glint in her eye, the one that revealed a glimpse of the beast behind her gentle façade. I knew she was holding back for me. The question was, was I prepared to find out what would happen if I set her free? Our eyes locked as she waited patiently for my answer. I took a deep breath.

"Do your worst," I said.

"I think we might need to work up to that," she said suggestively, the husk in her voice making my insides tremble. She reached out and took one of my hands, raising it up to her lips and placing a gentle kiss across it, just like an old school gentleman.

"For you, princess,' she said.

I couldn't help the little shiver that ran down my spine at the endearment. Nor the hint of giddiness at the way Emily was making me feel. With Nick, sex had felt like an obligation, the price I had to pay for his love. With Emily it felt like a gift. A gift I was becoming increasingly anxious to unwrap. She led me over to the bed, dazzling me with the warmth that spread across her features. Oh those eyes and that smile. I wanted her to consume me with those eyes and that smile. She guided me onto my back, and lay down beside me. And then she kissed me, and kissed me again. For what seemed like an age she did nothing but tantalise my lips with hers. No tongues and no aggression, like we were a couple of young teens on our first make out session. It was beautiful, and somehow so innocent, I almost forgot what was to come. But then she started to spread those kisses across my face and down my neck, and even though they were just as gentle as before, each point of contact heralded a sharp intake of breath on my part as the gentle stimulation started to wake up parts of my body which were far, far hungrier. She pushed up the fabric of my top, exposing a thin strip of skin across my belly, which she rewarded with yet more of her delicate kisses. I let out a little moan, as I felt her hot breath traversing my eager flesh. I would have been embarrassed, had I not had the feeling I would be making far louder and more eloquent sounds than that before the day was through. I shuddered as she drew her hands slowly down the full length of my body from my cheeks to my toes, and then frowned as she kept on going, leaving me to stand at the end of the bed.

"What's wrong?" I asked anxiously.

"Nothing's wrong," she smiled at me. "Just relax. And enjoy."

With that she began to slowly remove her clothes, starting with her top, revealing to me the wonder of her bra clad breasts, and kick starting the urge to have them in my mouth. As she slid out of her skirt to reveal her muscular thighs, my mouth fell open. Her body was amazing, and I still couldn't quite believe she was willing to share it with me. She kept eye contact with me as she took off her underwear, and as arousing as I found it gazing upon her beautiful naked form, I understood what she was doing. This performance was about much more than the titillation of the strip. She was making herself vulnerable first, showing me that I could trust her despite all of her obvious experience. And I did. When she returned to me I was no longer prepared to have her by my side, and I pulled her down on top of me and greeted her with an open mouthed kiss. This time she showed no hesitation, and the sensation of her quick tongue entering my mouth sent my hips pushing up to meet her on automatic. I felt the friction through my clothes as my groin slid against her thigh, and I knew I wanted more. My hands made an involuntary grab for her ass, so I could feel the sensation again. The weight of her body on me and the feel of those extraordinary curves against my fingers, made me want to push kisses against all of her sweet smelling skin. In a move that surprised me as much as her, I flipped her onto her back and attacked her nipple with my teeth and my tongue. The excited gasps that were escaping her throat made me want to bite her even harder. And so I did, causing her whole body to undulate beneath me. In an instant I was desperate to be naked. I couldn't bear the feeling of the clothes against my body when I so badly needed it to be her flesh. I pulled away from her and started tearing ineffectively at my top, suddenly not understanding the physics of how to remove it, until Emily came to save me.

"Shhh, it's ok," she said, taking control of my frantic hands. "We have all the time in the world."

And she was right. I swear she must have been messing with the fabric of the cosmos, because that morning seemed to last forever. She laid me back down on the bed, and took a delicate age to undress me. Each slight exposure of skin was followed by the most exquisite of attentions, her thoughtful fingers, lips and tongue ensuring that every corner of my body erupted into life. An explosion of new sensation rippled through me at every point of contact, as she undid my blouse, as she slid my skirt along my thighs. Every touch made me want her more completely, and yet I was loving every minute of this fantastically artful process, revelling in its luxury and wallowing in its richness. So this was sex. I finally understood what all the fuss was about. I wasn't even naked yet, and she was making me feel more of a woman than Nick ever had. She trailed kisses back up my body and then bit into the tendons on my neck, making me arch towards her. In the very same instant she slid her hand beneath my back and deftly unfastened my bra. Damn, this girl was smooth. Moments later, when her gorgeous mouth closed around my nipple, I forgot all about trying to protect myself. So what if she was a player? She could play me to any tune she liked and I would be her willing instrument.

"Jesus, Emily, Fuck," I moaned as she gently tugged my nipple between her teeth.

"Don't worry beautiful," she assured me, the husk in her voice sending it's vibrations piercing through my flesh and into my very core. "We're getting to that…"

I was already sweating as the heat of the Spanish day began to rise whilst Emily made my breasts into her playground. I watched her, I couldn't take my eyes off her gorgeous face and how she looked so delighted with the treasures she found before her. I had never felt as beautiful as I did right then. Emily had kept her promise, I felt like a fucking princess. The sight of her getting turned on by me poured rocket fuel on my own desires and my hips started rolling relentlessly beneath her, pushing against the thigh that separated my legs. She couldn't help but let out a small laugh at one particularly violent undulation and the loud, hungry groan that accompanied it, and I found myself laughing too at how suddenly unreserved I had become in the few hours since I met her. She grinned at me with the devil in her eyes, and started to kiss her way down my belly. When she removed my knickers I felt none of the fear I had anticipated. It felt more like a communication than an invasion, and as she crawled her way back up my body I was more than ready for her.

She gifted me with more opulent and magnificent kisses as her fingers played their overture back down my highly charged torso, until…

I've never been religious, but I cried out for the Lord like an evangelist when she touched me. I hadn't even realised just how wet I was until her fingers slid effortlessly across my clit, sending hitherto unknown shockwaves of pleasure singing down every nerve ending in my body.

"Fucking hell, Emily," I gasped as she teased and coaxed and titillated me. Her eyes raked over me filled with her special brand of filthy affection as she drank in my reaction to her strokes, and we drove each other on in a self evolving cycle of encouragement and abandon. God, she felt so fucking good. My hands grabbed at the sides of the single bed as I sought out more leverage to push myself towards her. This was the single most beautiful thing I had experienced in all my years on the planet. I didn't think it was possible for anything to feel any better than this.

I was wrong. She entered me. I swear my whole body must have lurched skywards and I nearly whited out from the rush. When I came down again I just stared at her. She seemed as though she had entered some kind of blissful rapture. Her eyes were half closed and the sweetest of smiles graced her features as she found her way in and out of me by touch alone, as if she was learning me. I lost visual contact as my head rolled back and all my focus zoned in on the motion of her fingers. Her mouth sought out my breasts again and her actions started to take on a greater urgency. When my eyes found her again, she was watching me, checking on me as she started to push me harder, making sure I was ready for her to up the game. I so fucking was. I found myself clinging onto her back as she started to thrust deeper and harder into me. Any doubts I'd had were ancient history now. I wanted her, and I wanted all of her, and I wanted it now. I grabbed the back of her hair and pulled her into a demanding kiss, wanting the penetration of her tongue every bit as much as I wanted the breathtaking friction between my legs. I wanted us to be bound together as she fucked me towards the orgasm I knew was coming. I had always been too shy to really masturbate, I'd never made myself come, and Nick certainly hadn't, but I knew as I knew the sun was going to rise and set that Emily was going to have me in pieces.

I think I'll remember that moment for the rest of my life. All senseless metaphors of explosions and earthquakes and volcanoes were rendered irrelevant in that moment. All the bullshit I had put myself through in my youth was swept away in that moment. For the very first time in my life I felt fucking real. The moment I came in Emily's arms was the moment I finally came to be me.

.

.

.

I was dragged away from my memories and back into the present by the sound of wicked laughter.

"I've seen that smile before," laughed Katie. "I've seen that smile on a lot of women's faces when they think about Emily."

"I'll bet you have," I said, _that_ smile remaining on my lips. "Is she here?"

"Yeah," said Katie. "But don't get too excited. She has a girlfriend now. She's all super in love and stuff."

"With the artist?" I asked her. "I heard she was going out with an aerialist."

"NO," said Katie with unexpected aggression. "No, with the girl in the pictures."

I gazed across at the nearest photo. I hadn't actually looked at them yet. I'd been too preoccupied with getting my hands on the free wine. Emily was sitting in the sun with just a long T-shirt on, on the grass in front of the wheel of a big circus truck. Lurking in the background off to the side, was some fuzzy blonde out of focus. But it was Emily's face that commanded your attention. Her head was tilted slightly downwards, and she had an impressive case of bed hair, and lighting up her features was an irresistible smile. _That_ smile. The smile of someone who's just had the best sex ever.

"So someone finally got to you," I said under my breath.

I was overcome with an intense feeling of affection. I was happy for her. There had been a tomorrow back in Ibiza. And I had been part of it. We had made love that day until our exhausted bodies had collapsed into a satisfied sleep. When I woke up again that afternoon, it was to find her smiling down at me. She told me I was gorgeous and introduced me to the Breakfast of Champions. Liv took to my coming out with her usual don't give a fuck attitude. That night I looked on gobsmacked as I discovered what exactly it was an aerialist did, me and Liv staring open jawed at the ceiling as Emily and Katie entranced us on their silks. Liv and Katie formed an evil alliance which involved them making Emily and me snog in the middle of the dancefloor to attract the attention of all the guys, whilst they took their pick of the most appealing specimens. Not that I minded. Kissing Emily had very quickly become my new favourite thing to do, well one of them anyway…

The next few days were what you might call a voyage of discovery. I found out that Emily had very much been holding back that first night, wanting to give me the beautiful and special experience I'd missed out on for my first time. But the biggest surprise when she started to let her animal out of its cage, was finding I had one to match. The first time I fucked her, I mean like really fucked her, we had been out walking one night and had run into another of Emily's girltoys. In a fit of pique, I'd dragged Ems into some alleyway, already kissing her aggressively as I slammed her into the wall. Afterwards I felt slightly ashamed at how easily I had lost control, and how much I had enjoyed just taking her, and marking her as mine. She was still breathless as she reassured me.

"It's ok, Mini," she smiled. "Sometimes a girl just loves being fucked like that."

"Yeah?" I questioned.

"Yeah," she replied, kissing me.

"Good," I said in relief. "Cause I fucking loved doing it."

"I could tell," smirked Emily.

"God, I'm so fucking gay, aren't I?" I said.

"Just a little bit, yeah," laughed Emily.

She started talking to me whenever we had sex, always asking how it felt, and if I liked what she was doing. It confused me at first. Surely she had to know that everything she did to me drove me into an unbridled sexual frenzy. It wasn't until a couple of days later that it clicked. We were out at her club, and she started flirting shamelessly on the dance floor with a bunch of girls who were all over her in seconds. I felt my fury rising, until she caught my eye and raised her eyebrows at me with a cheeky grin. See what I can do, she was telling me. She flounced off the dancefloor moments later claiming she needed a drink. As she passed me, she whispered in my ear.

"Your turn."

It had all been for show. Everything fell into place. All the questions, all the flirting. She had been teaching me. I looked out at the girls on the floor. Time to own those bitches. I danced towards them, all my former shyness a distant memory. I knew I was fit as fuck. The most gorgeous, amazing and sexy woman on this island thought I was fit as fuck and who was I to argue. With a transfusion of the famous Fitch confidence buzzing in my blood, it wasn't long before the girls were falling over themselves to be the one who got to touch me. I picked a pretty brunette, and let her wrap herself around me as we danced. She opened her mouth to me willingly as I drew her into a kiss, her eyes black with that special combination of drugs and desire. The kiss was sweet and dirty, and it felt good to have her wanting me, but I wasn't to take advantage that night. Another body pressed into me from behind, and I already knew its contours off by heart. I kissed the brunette on the forehead, and span round to lock lips with my red devil.

"How did that feel?" she whispered in my ear, already knowing the answer.

"It felt good," I replied. "But this feels better."

I bit her neck in the way I knew she liked, causing her to swear under her breath.

"Wanna get out of here?" I asked.

Her response was to grab my hand and make a run for the door. Ha, you aren't the only one who can be badass, Emily Fitch.

"So why me?" I asked her as we walked back towards her hotel.

"Why you what?" she replied, faking innocence.

"You know damn well what," I said. "Why am I still here and getting the Emily Fitch guide to being a hot badass sexy bitch, instead of weeping into my cocktails?"

"Because I like you, Mini," laughed Emily. "You're smart, and you're funny and gorgeous, and you're well on your way to being a hot badass sexy bitch already. Because you have the balls to ask me questions like that."

We had awesome sex that night. Let's face it we had awesome sex every night, until her contract ended and her and Katie were due to fly home the day after. That night we did get fucked up on Liv's pills and danced and kissed and felt each others asses like it was what we lived for. In a moment of drugged up revelation, I knew what it meant for me to be seizing the moment like this. I wasn't afraid any more. I didn't care who knew that I liked girls, and I knew that I fucking liked them a lot. I'd started looking more and more as the days went by. All those beautiful honeys in their skimpy dresses and their bikinis, with their smiles and their hair and their tits. One day I had walked into a bollard cause I was too busy staring at a Spanish girl painting a window up a ladder.

"Smooth," teased Emily, as I attempted to recover, and gazed at the floor in embarrassment.

"It's ok, babes," she assured me. "I was looking too."

Cause for all the fun we had, and all of the awesome sex, and all the knowledge she had shared, I knew that Emily was still the player that I'd met on that first night. And I knew she'd been teaching me for a reason. We were stood side by side on the balcony of a club, looking out over a sea of bodies rising and falling to the beat. I finally got up the balls to ask her another question.

"I'm not going to see you again, am I?" I said.

Something in her eyes told me the answer before she even spoke.

"You know what I am, Mini," she said.

"Yeah," I admitted. "Yes, I do…"

"But do you know what you are?"

She raised that sexy eyebrow at me, and I wanted to fuck her there and then, but I knew what she was getting at.

"You've got a new toy," she told me. "I think you should go play with it."

I looked out into the sea of bodies again, but some of the bodies became more distinct. Girls. Blonde girls, redheads, brunettes. Tall girls. Athletic girls. Curvy girls. Girls in dresses, girls in hotpants, girls in jeans. Beautiful girls, all waiting to be discovered. All waiting to be dazzled by the fabulous charms of Mini the Minx.

"We are going to go out with a bang though, yeah?" I said, knowing it was more of a statement than a question.

"Oh, hell yeah," smirked Emily. "Let battle commence."

I raked my eyes unashamedly up and down her body.

"Do your worst," I goaded her.

The criminal smile that spread across her face left me in no doubt that tonight I was going to get it.

"Those eyes should be fucking illegal," I told her. "You need locking up."

"Thought you'd never ask," she replied.

.

.

.

I grabbed a glass of champagne from the tray of a passing waitress, throwing her a winning smile, and enjoying the slight blush that crept up her neck as I did so. She had soft brown hair cut into an asymmetric bob, sparkling blue eyes and a hint of an Eastern European accent. Worth pursuing? Maybe later. My head was still full of Emily. It was time to look at some art.


	2. Chapter 2

**For the Masked Avenger, Cat and SJ – all my fighting ladies. When you get well again it's gonna be a PAAAAAAARTY at HyperFitched Towers. Love and strength my lovelies xxx**

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Mini The Minx 2

2. Bristol

I didn't even make it over to the first photo before some idiot boy came barrelling into me from behind, spilling my champagne and nearly making me go flying.

"Jesus Christ, what the fuck?" I said angrily, attempting to shake the wine from my hands before turning to face my assailant.

"Sorry darlin," he said. "I was just in a bit of a rush… Whoa, maybe not so sorry, cause that is one fine looking ass you got on ya there, babes."

Memory triggers exploded in my head at the sound of his voice. There was only one person who sounded like that, and I didn't need to see him to know exactly what kind of excited leer would be on his face as he checked out my bum.

"How about it, babe?" he continued. "You and me. Let's get together and feel alright."

I took at deep breath, and turned to face him.

"Cook, how lovely to see you again," I said sarcastically.

"You know me?" he said raising his eyebrows. "Or does my reputation proceed me, cause I'm sure I'd remember shaggin' you, darlin'."

"That's cause I didn't shag _you_, Cook," I grinned.

A flare of recognition crept across his face, and a filthy smile soon followed.

"Nah," he laughed. "You shagged my best mate."

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.

.

I had just finished my first year at university, and I'd come home to Bristol for the summer. Liv had decided that the best way to welcome me back to the South West was to drag me off to a three day cider festival in some field in the middle of nowhere. The whole thing was a fairly hippyish affair, but I didn't mind. Every since I had met Emily Fitch, parties and festivals had meant only one thing. Girls. Lots of girls, all looking fine and taking lots of drugs that made them all touchy feely and wanting to share the love. I'd left Liv giggling away in the arms of some blonde boy after consuming more spliff than I'd thought was humanly possible. I was feeling pretty floaty myself, and I started wandering through the fields looking at all the pretty things having fun, occasionally stopping to watch some music or hang out by the fire. Oh yeah, and to drink a whole bunch of cider.

I eventually found myself drifting back towards somewhere that had become one of my favourite places to hang out. It was this crazy café called the Tribal Fountain, that sold awesome food and just had a lovely welcoming vibe to it. In my altered state I could think of nothing nicer than just plonking myself into one of their old armchairs and watching the world go by.

"Back again," smiled the friendly blonde woman who ran the place. "Can't seem to tear myself away," I grinned back at her.

"Well, you're in for a treat," she said. "My daughter and her partner are about to do a fire show outside. I'll grab us a couple of drinks and we can go and watch."

She handed me a bottle of beer, and shooed me away when I offered to pay for it, linking her arm through mine and dragging me over to the outside area of the café.

"It's a lovely night for it," she said, looking up at the stars.

"It certainly is," I replied, feasting my eyes on the delectable selection of hippy chicks waiting for the show to start. I was still looking at them when the PA system was turned up and some slow, dramatic music came on. To be honest, I'd seen quite a lot of people doing fire poi and staff over the weekend so far and I had kind of growing immune to it. Yeah it's pretty and all that, but it all started to look the same after a while. It wasn't until the café woman nudged me in the ribs, and nodded proudly towards the performers, that I turned my head towards them. There were two of them, a boy and a girl, but the boy was forgotten in an instant, because Holy Blonde Goddess….

It wasn't just that she was fit, and she was _seriously_ fucking fit. It wasn't the way she was dressed, though she was wearing a suit and a trilby and she looked fucking fantastic, instantly standing out from all the other scraggy hippy fire performers I had seen. It was the way she moved. It was like she was dancing with the fire. The tricks I had seen a dozen times were interpreted into new and beautiful things by the way she twisted and turned and flowed through her choreography. Sometimes the flames flowed around her seamlessly, but at others she seemed to be able to stop them in mid air before starting them again in a new and more complex pattern. I think I must have stopped breathing. I was completely hypnotised as the woman and the fire seemed to become one entity. The world could have stopped turning, but I would have still felt like I was travelling through space, being carried along in a blaze of lust and euphoria by her spiralling flames. She was smiling away to herself as if she was a little drunk on her own power, as she lost herself in the music and her own private inferno. And her eyes, oh God, her eyes…

You could only see them in the brief moments that the flames flashed past her face, but even those brief glimpses were enough to show their powerful intensity. A girl could get lost in those eyes for days.

By the time they finished their routine I was in a state of serious arousal. All the other pretty things had been cast aside in the wake of the blonde goddess. She was the one that I wanted to discover tonight. The sound of the audience clapping and shrieking brought me out of my sex trance, and I watched as She Who Must Be Shagged grabbed the hand of the boy beside her as they took their bows. The café lady's words came back to haunt me – 'my daughter and her _partner_'. Bugger.

I turned to look at the goddess's mother for some kind of confirmation of this assumption, but she was staring at me with a cheeky glint in her eye, and it was unnerving.

"Enjoy the show?" she smirked at me.

"Yes, she was very good," I mumbled.

"Her name's Naomi. And I'm Gina."

"Have they known each other long?" I asked her, watching the easy familiarity between Naomi and the boy.

"Oh Naomi and Cook go way back," replied Gina. "Since they were just sixteen. But they've gotten a whole lot more serious about things in the past couple of years. He's just like a part of the family really."

Teenage sweethearts. How fucking cute. No way I was ripping into that, even with all my Fitch taught charms. Still, no harm in a bit of window shopping, eh? I gratefully accepted Gina's offer to share another beer with her, figuring at some point the blonde would want to come to see her mum and I'd get a free introduction, but it was the boyfriend that I came across first. I noticed him a couple of feet away, engaging in a none too subtle come on to a sweet looking girl in a purple dress. His lines were crude and his body language even worse. I was amazed that he thought that kind of approach would ever work, but even more astonished when the girl started giggling back at him, and seemed to be falling for it. My blood started boiling, what the fuck did he think he was doing? I'm mean sure, she was pretty enough, but his girlfriend was so gorgeous, talented and amazing she was practically divine. I didn't even see it as an opportunity to muscle in on his territory, I was too incensed on behalf of my goddess. What the fuck was possessing him to cheat on her like this?

"Oh dear, if looks could kill I think Cook would be in danger of vapourising any moment now," a cheekily sarky voice said from beside me. "Trust me, he's not worth it, he's a total man whore."

I turned towards the voice and there she was, smiling up at me from beneath that foxy trilby. Those glacier eyes were cold burning straight into me, and I found myself rendered momentarily speechless.

"I'm sorry if he hurt you," she apologised. "But a fuck's just a fuck to him. He let's his dick do all the thinking. You deserve better"

"What? Me? No, God, eeew. No. I wouldn't… Never…," I stuttered, as I cottoned to what she was implying, almost shuddering at the thought.

"Well that was emphatic," she grinned. "Almost makes me want him to come on to you, just to see him get knocked back with such vigour."

"No thanks," I said. "I think I can live without that."

I screwed my face up as I indicated the boy Cook, rubbing his own crotch in the general direction of purple dress.

"Why do you put up with it?" I asked her.

"Nothing to do with me," she shrugged. "If a girl's stupid enough to fall for Cook's idiotic charms, she deserves all she gets."

"You mean he's not your boyfriend?" I said.

Naomi let loose a laugh so beautiful it felt like the angels were caressing my ears with their feathers.

"Much like you, I seem to be immune," she smiled.

I laughed along with her joke. Things were looking up.

"I wouldn't sleep with Cook if he was the last man on earth," she continued before backtracking. "Though if he actually was the last man in earth I probably would, I suppose."

So straight then, but not to worry. Emily had taught me that a previous history of heterosexuality was not always an insurmountable barrier.

"Unless," pondered Naomi. "There was a last girl on earth who wasn't me. Then I'd probably shag her instead."

She looked me dead in the eye as she uttered those words. Her pupils were large and dilated. Either she was on something or she was flirting with me. Or possibly both. Time to be bold.

"Well I'd definitely sleep with her instead," I said confidently. That was another gift that Emily had given me – complete trust in who I was. I had come out to my mum as soon as I got back from Ibiza, and I'd never once covered it up since. No-one was ever going to make me feel bad about myself again. Naomi raised a quizzical eyebrow at me.

"And what if I was the last girl on earth?" she teased me.

"Oh you wouldn't need to be the last girl on earth for me to want to sleep with you," I replied.

"Good to know," she said, looking me up and down.

So she was blonde, beautiful and bisexual. A perfect fucking score.

Our eyes locked, and I felt like I was paralysed. I wasn't exactly a stranger to picking up girls any more, but this girl wasn't just any girl. She was enchanting. I think I could have just stayed there all night if it wasn't for the boy shaped ball of energy that came bouncing towards us at a rate of knots.

"Yo, Naomikins, where's the fucking party?" yelled Cook.

"What's up Cookie Monster, purple dress not putting out?" Naomi laughed at him.

"Nah man, too uptight," he said, shaking his head. "Time to forget her and move on. Speaking of which, helloooo Blondie…."

I could see him practically licking his lips as he ran his eyes over my curves. It was gross.

"Back off, Cook," said Naomi firmly.

"Hey, you can't blame a man for trying," he said.

"Yeah, but you can smack him round the head for being a dicksplash in front of my new friend," she chided him.

"Alright, alright, no need for violence," said Cook, putting his hands up in front of him.

"You have to watch this one, Blondie," he told me conspiratorially. "She hits like a man."

"I don't hit girls," said Naomi. "Fortunately I have no such boundaries when it comes to you."

"But she's so mint," whined Cook.

"And you're dribbling like a hungry wolf," she laughed at him.

"I am a hungry wolf," he yelled, and howled loudly as if to prove a point, before waggling his eyebrows hopefully in my direction.

"Not happening, Cook," said Naomi forcefully, before smirking in my direction. "I don't think you're her type."

"Are you sure about that?" said Cook. "Why don't we let the lady speak for herself?"

"Fuck me, you're persistent," I said.

"Oh I will darling," grinned Cook. "I thought you'd never ask."

He made an attempt to get closer to me, but was instantly thwarted by a flash of movement from the blonde that had him hopping about one leg clutching his other thigh.

"Ow, fucking hell, dead leg. Naomi, you bastard," he spat as he danced.

"I told you to back off," shrugged Naomi. "You should know better by now."

"Ok, ok," he said, gingerly testing the ground with his dead leg. "But I need to find a party, so how about a little peace offering and we can go get us some adventure?"

He pulled out a bag of pills from his jeans pocket, and waved them temptingly in front of us.

"Don't mind if I do," said Naomi, snatching the bag from his grasp. "Care to join us, um…."

"Mini," I informed her. "And yes, I'd love to."

"Excellent news," smiled Naomi, digging a pill from the bag and popping it onto her tongue.

When she didn't swallow it I knew what was coming next, and her delicious fucking eyes were sparkling at me, daring me to take the bait. It was incredibly fucking forward of her seeing as we'd only met five minutes ago, but fuck it, we were big girls and we both knew what we wanted to happen. I grabbed the lapels of her suit jacket and pulled her towards me, opening my mouth to receive the pill, and more importantly, her tongue. I could hear Cook laughing in the background, but I didn't give a fuck about him. The feel of her mouth on mine was fucking gorgeous, and it was only the fear of choking on the pill she'd just passed me, that made me relinquish it. I pulled back, grabbed my beer from behind me to drown the taste of the pill and took a huge swig, before tossing the bottle over my shoulder, grabbing her jacket again and pulling her in for a no holds barred round two. Naomi came willingly. She slipped her hands round the curve of my ass and pressed her body close to me as she kissed me. She pushed her tongue unashamedly deep into my mouth as our kiss descended from the merely filthy to the downright obscene in a matter of seconds. I felt my knickers flood at the thought of her getting her hands all over my body. If this kiss was anything to go by, things were only going to get a whole lot filthier.

Oh yes, top notch lezzer action," shouted an excited Cook. "I get it now, Naoms. Nice one, Blondie. Fucking nice one."

Naomi pulled away reluctantly.

"Yeah, well you don't still don't get to join in, tosser," she told him. "So we need to get us to a party so you can find your own woman, cause this one's mine."

The pill was strong. A lot stronger than I was used to. And to be honest, I don't remember much about the next couple of hours. They passed in a pleasant blur of music and pretty lights and sensation. What I do remember is the sound of Cook's laughter, and the feel of Naomi's lips and hands, which were never too far away from my body. I'd never been a huge waster, I had always been too scared of losing control. But in the right time and place, and with the right people it could be fucking glorious. And tonight was one of those nights. I even found myself warming to Cook, the more I watched him with Naomi and saw their banter, their insults and their humour and the very obvious love they had for each other. But then again, I had just taken a bunch of fluffy love chemicals and I thought everyone was gorgeous. Every now and again my mind and subsequently my body would get distracted and wander off, but Naomi always came back to claim me, and God, did I just love it when she did. She was forceful without being intrusive, confident without being cocky and the way her hands danced all over my body whenever we refound each other made me all the more determined to have my wicked way with her.

I caught her eye when some particularly tiresome boy was trying to impress me with the fact that he was a DJ. She was quite simply breathtaking, and it made me wonder how such beauty could even exist on the same planet as the idiot who was trying to get into my pants. She rolled her eyes at the hopeful swagger of my unsuitable suitor, and decided enough was enough. I watched in hypnotised delight as she stalked over towards us, casually pushed DJ Tedious to one side, and took me into a delirious kiss. Even without the drugs I think my head would have been spinning, she was such a good kisser. I was ridiculously turned on, and I started to turn the kiss around, gradually becoming more aggressive until I had her backed against a conveniently nearby tree.

"Wow, that was…" she said breathlessly when we broke for air.

"Fucking gorgeous," I said. "Just like you."

She laughed her beautiful laugh again, and her eyes held the fire of a thousand devils.

"So, are you going to fuck me tonight then, gorgeous?" she said.

"Yes, I am," I replied without hesitation. "Where's your tent?"

"My tent?" she frowned an adorably wasted frown. "You want to fuck me in my tent?"

"Unless you want me to do you up against this tree," I replied, wondering why her tent seemed such an outrageous suggestion.

She flashed her eyes at me in a way that suggested she would have been just fine with that were it not for the hundred or so hippies in the general vicinity, before relenting.

"I guess I could show you my tent," she smirked at me.

We staggered across two or three fields without allowing ourselves to be tempted by any distractions. I really was of a mind to get her naked as soon as humanly possible, and she seemed to be in agreement with this plan. Which was why I was kind of confused when she drew to a halt in front of some big red marquee thing and just stood there holding my hand and swaying slightly.

"What are we doing here, Naomi?" I asked her.

"It's my tent," she said smugly.

"Where?" I replied, looking round for any evidence of a camp.

"There," she said, she said pointing at the marquee, as proudly as if she were showing me her baby. "That's my tent."

"That's a circus tent, Naomi," with a hint of bitch Mini laced through my words.

"Not just any old circus tent," she grinned drunkenly. "_My_ circus tent, for _my_ circus."

"You own a circus?" I said in amazement.

"I do," she bragged. "Would you like to see some of my tricks…?"

I was struggling to stop me knees from giving out beneath me. I knew all about circus girls and their tricks, and I sure as hell wanted to know what Naomi had up her sleeve.

"Fuck me, you have a devastating smile," she gasped.

"And wouldn't you like to know what I'm thinking about to make me smile like this?" I smouldered.

Actually I was thanking the universe for handing me Emily Fitch who gave me the weapons in my armoury to pull girls as gorgeous as Naomi, and have them look at me the way she was looking at me now, But Naomi didn't need to know that.

"Why don't you show me?" she said.

She took my hand and led me round the back of the tent and through some herris fencing to where a collection of vehicles were parked.

"Welcome to my humble abode," she said graciously as we mounted the steps of an amazing looking old truck. This was seriously going to be better than shagging in a tent. I almost clapped my hands together in glee when I saw that she had a real bed in there. Though I had been prepared to rough it for the sake of getting my hands on Naomi, I was seriously delighted at this development. Luxury was so much more my style.

"Do you want a drink?" offered Naomi, but I had other things on my mind.

"What I want is you with your clothes off and your legs spread open beneath me," I told her.

"God, you're filthy," she laughed. "I love it."

She kissed me roughly and dragged me to the bed. I knew she wanted me to fuck her, but she wasn't going to make it easy for me. We completed our undressing in the style of a catfight in a brothel with plenty of biting and hair pulling to accompany our furious kisses. Naomi seemed to like me wild, so I was going to give her wild like she'd never had it before. We continued to wrestle round each other making a fabulous mess of the bed. Every time I thought I was gaining the upper hand, she somehow managed to flip us over, licking my stomach, or biting into the soft flesh of my breasts. It wasn't a surprise. I could see how beautifully toned she was and I could feel the strength in her limbs as she wrapped them around me. It was taking quite a bit of willpower not to just give in and let her take me, but I was enjoying the fight too much to surrender, and Mini McGuiness is not a quitter. It was obvious she had me beaten hands down on power. It was time to fight dirty.

"Oh God, Naomi please, I need you," I cried, relaxing my grip on her and throwing my arms out to the sides. "Bite my breasts again baby, I want to feel you own me."

She stopped trying to hold me down and looked at me, her blazing blue eyes dripping lust like an extra flamey candle dripping molten wax. And in the next instant she nearly fell over herself trying to comply with my request. It was all part of my evil scheme. In the fraction of a second she was off balance, I took ruthless advantage, pushing my weight against hers and forcing her onto her back once more. This time I didn't hesitate, slipping my hand between her legs and entering her without warning.

"Jesus," she cried out as my fingers slipped inside her beautiful hot, wet pussy, and in that instant I knew that she was mine.

She gave up any pretence of struggle, and pushed her hips up to meet me. Time to show the circus girl I had a few tricks of my own.

"Fucking hell, you feel good," she groaned as we found a rhythm that was satisfying us both. She was so gloriously wet and sweating and filthy as she gasped into my thrusts. I felt myself wanting to push into her harder and harder. I was under no illusions. This was drug fuelled sex with a stranger, and we both knew we wanted it dirty and rough, and leave the consequences to the morning. But in this moment she was fucking perfect. The best sex I'd had since Emily, and I was going to make my mentor proud.

My mouth snatched hungrily at her flesh each time I pushed into her, tasting her belly, her breasts, her neck, and her divinely compliant mouth, all without breaking my stride. Naomi moaned and writhed beneath me, loving and wanting everything I did to her and more. Any semblance of order in the bed had been destroyed and we were both frantic and sweating and totally lost in the fabulous mess of our lust. It was a good job all those hours on the treadmill at the gym had given me plenty of stamina, cause I needed it now as Naomi's raw and animal needs were dragging us further and further into a perfect storm of passion.

Her cries grew more ragged and her thrusting more desperate, her beautiful blonde hair draped messily across the sheets. For a moment I just shut my eyes and focussed everything on the feel of her beautiful pussy surrounding me. Back on Ibiza I had discovered the full extent of my true nature. Though Franky had made me suspect that I might be a little bit into girls, I had since learned that I was gay as a fucking window. I loved women. Completely loved them with their beautiful soft lips and sweet smelling skin, the incomparable texture of their breasts, and the undeniable brilliance of a soaking wet cunt closing itself around your fingers. And their voices, singing to me as they came beneath my touch. The way Naomi's voice was starting to sing to me now.

At that moment I would have sacrificed almost anything just for the chance to make her come. That was the power that women hold over me. Back in the days before I knew who I was, my only idea of sex was some kind of fluffy pink princess sex, which was something conveniently vague that happened somewhere between the fairlytale wedding and the happy ever after. I would never have conceived of myself like this, raw and dangerous and flirting with the edge of violence and fucking some breathtaking blonde stranger through the bed, because I simply had to hear her scream. But this was me, and I was shameless. Naomi was out of control. She was completely mine now, her head thrashing from side to side and her hands grabbing handfuls of bedding. The sight of her wanting me so much made me attack her with renewed vigour. I seized her nipple with my mouth and sucked hard as I curled my fingers against her wall. It was enough. Her eyes shot open and I watched the astonishment in that never ending sea of blue as she screamed and shook and shivered to her satisfaction. It was a roaring dragon of an orgasm, and she looked even more impossibly beautiful in its flames. I was crying out myself in delight at the wonderful thing that I had done. These moments may be fleeting, but they are worth fighting armies for.

It took her several minutes to recover, and I just propped myself up on one elbow and watched. I loved watching women made breathless and speechless by my hand. I feel superhuman, and my special power is the deliverance of extreme pleasure.

When she had finally collected enough of her senses, she looked at me like I wasn't quite real.

"Fucking hell, you're good," she gasped.

Though my ego would have liked to have claimed full credit, I had the strange and unusual desire to fess up.

"I had a good teacher," I confessed.

"Jesus, I'd like to meet her," said Naomi.

"Yeah," I laughed. "I think you'd like her."

.

.

.

"Babe, babe, babe…."

The constant repetition of the word finally filtered through to my consciousness.

"Sorry Cook, zoned out there for a minute," I said. "What were you saying?"

"I dunno where you went there babe, but it looked pretty fucking nice," laughed Cook. "I was just saying I gotta shoot off for a bit, but I'll catch ya later, yeah?"

"Yeah sure," I told him, before being caught by a sudden afterthought. "Is Naomi here?"

"Oh yeah," smirked Cook. "But she's a changed woman. "She's been seriously bitten by the love bug."

"What? Naomi?" I scoffed incredulously. "No way."

"Trust me, little fluffy bunnies start vomiting at her cuteness," he laughed.

"Boy or girl?" I asked, still not quite believing it was possible.

"Girl," affirmed Cook.

"She must be something special," I said.

"Oh she is," said Cook, surprisingly dreamily.

"Oh, is it the artist?" I asked. Maybe Naomi was her aerialist.

"No, no," said Cook. "Haven't you seen the pictures? She's in love with the girl in the pictures."

The girl in the pictures? But the girl in the pictures was Emily. Fuck. I abandoned Cook and ran over to the wall. And sure enough the fuzzy blonde had metamorphasised into Naomi. The photograph I was looking at was of the pair of them sitting at an outdoor table in the evening light. Emily had a glass of wine in her hand and she was laughing, her whole face lit up by the radiance of her joy. Katie was there too and she too was laughing, but Naomi was just looking at Emily with such adoration on her face. Like she wanted to protect her, comfort her and shag her all at the same time. Like that laughter was the light of the sun, the force that gives us life itself. I moved on to the next picture. They were simply holding each other, but even through a two dimensional photograph you could feel the energy burning out from the print. You could tell that embrace meant everything to them. In the next one they looked like they were backstage in Naomi's tent, and were kissing so passionately I almost felt embarrassed to be observing them, yet at the same time I couldn't tear my eyes away. I had kissed Naomi passionately plenty of times, but never had I felt even a fraction of the love that was flowing out of the image. Whoever this photographer was, she was a genius in the art of capturing emotion. I carried on working my way through the photos of Emily and Naomi. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry that they'd found something with each other I had never found with either of them.

.

.

.

The first surprise was waking up the next day with Naomi's long limbs wrapped casually around my body. A smutty smile broke over my face as I remembered the way she had paid me back for my efforts the night before. Clearly I was not the only one who was an awesome shag in this arrangement. I was quite happy where I was, but I knew the guy that Liv had gotten us a lift with was heading back to Bristol quite early. Naomi's breathing was quite deep and peaceful indicating she was fast asleep. I contemplated waking her, but then the thought of seeing an emotionless morning after casual sex face became suddenly unappealing. Last night had been something amazing, and I decided that I didn't want to spoil the memory with awkwardness. Better just to sneak away, and keep the purity of the encounter intact. Gingerly, I started to extricate myself from her grasp, moving slowly so as not to wake her. The task of finding all my clothes proved even more difficult as they had been scattered to the winds in the chaos of our lust. I tiptoed around the truck until I had gathered all my belongings, and poured myself into last night's party clothes. I was ready to go but I couldn't help taking one last glance back at the sleeping woman I was leaving behind. Naked and unconscious in the morning light, she seemed so much more innocent and vulnerable than she had been the night before, but still so fucking beautiful. You need to get out Mini, I told myself, forcing myself to look away, don't ruin it. I don't know how I did it, but I managed to make it to the door, and had just cracked it open when I heard a single word.

"Don't."

I rested my head against the cold metal of the door frame.

"Don't what?" I said nervously.

"Don't go," said Naomi.

"I have to," I said, not daring to look back at her. "My lift is leaving."

"Where do you live," she asked me.

"Bristol."

"We're going back to Bristol tomorrow night. Stay with me"

She almost whispered the last three words, and I wasn't sure if I had actually heard them, or if it was just wishful thinking. I turned my head back towards her, finally daring to look. Her eyes held such entreaty my resolve shattered as easily as if it had been dipped in liquid nitrogen and dropped from the top of Canary Wharf.

"Come back to bed, Mini," she said.

I dropped the pair of shoes I still held in my hand and went to her.

The second surprise was waking up the day after that in her empty bed. Our second go at sex had been far more intimate than the first. We'd spent most of the day in bed making lazy love, and just talking casually to each other, discovering the women behind the bodies we had locked together in such a frenzy the night before. She was funny, smart and very passionate about her circus. They had just gotten themselves the big top that year and were mostly using it for small shows and cabaret stuff at the moment, but Naomi had big plans. Plans to get funding, and to make a bigger and more artistic show. She was quite fascinating, and I found myself starting to wonder if this thing between us might actually go somewhere. But now here I was alone in her bed while she was fuck knows where. I gave myself a mental slap round the head, after all I was the one who had been planning to do a runner on her yesterday. I got dressed, thankfully Liv had dropped my bag off yesterday and I had something to change into. I knew I was going to get a huge ribbing off her when I got home, but it would be worth it. I had had a fucking lovely day with Naomi, and I was going to forget all this being paranoid crap and just go and find her.

I rolled my eyes at myself when I found her just outside, in charge of everybody taking down the tent. Just doing her job, Mini you idiot. You just need to be cool. I took a deep breath and walked on over to her.

"Hey you, I said breezily, attempting to kiss her, but she turned her head and kissed me on the cheek instead.

"Hi," she said, and she was smiling, but it didn't hold much warmth. Almost immediately she was distracted.

"Oi Freddie, you dozy cunt," she yelled. "You need to start that canvas from the other end."

Suddenly she noticed me still standing there like a lemon.

"Sorry hun," she said. "But I gotta take care of these losers or they'll cock it up completely."

"Can I help?" I offered.

She seemed to look me over for a second.

"Nah, you're better off staying out of the way," she said. "Make yourself at home in the truck though. Help yourself to food and shit."

So it wasn't the complete brush off, but I was still being dismissed as the silly little girlie too incompetent to help with her precious tent. So what should I do? Play the lady of leisure and sip tea in the sun whilst my woman worked. My options for fucking off were limited, so I installed myself in a deckchair and watched. It was clear Naomi was the brains of the operation, orchestrating all the others and being in control. It appeared that sober Naomi was a completely different creature from her substance abusing sister. For the rest of the day she was all business, barely even acknowledging my presence, but it almost didn't matter. Authoritative boss Naomi was seriously fucking hot, and when I saw her wielding a sledgehammer, I nearly fucking lost it. I spent the afternoon trying to decide whether the rewards for trying to push something with Naomi would be worth the effort. But the more I watched her in her element, the quicker my answer developed into a resounding yes.

She warmed up a little during the drive back to Bristol, chatting to me quite normally. But I could tell she was tired and winding down from the weekend, so I decided not to push my luck. I had already decided that the one thing that would send her running was the tiniest hint of clinginess. She took my number, and I got a goodnight kiss with a promise to call, and figured that was good enough.

And so began the ridiculous game of who could outcool the other and who was willing to make themselves seem desperate first. Why are we as adults so incapable of just saying what we want? Why are we so fucking scared of losing face that we cripple ourselves for communication. Not for the first time I found myself pining for Emily and her beautiful honesty. Even when she was saying what you didn't want to hear, she said it with good grace and charm. I managed four days before I cracked and rang Naomi's number. I was unsure whether to be relieved or not when it went straight to voicemail. I left her a cheerily casual message. I got nothing in return.

It wasn't until the following Friday night, when I was in the pub catching up with rich and Grace that I saw her name flashing across my screen when my phone started to vibrate. My throat went dry, and my palms started to sweat. Fuck me, I Mini McGuiness, ladykiller of this parish, was actually nervous. I got over myself and answered. I could hear Naomi giggling down the phone. She sounded fucked up.

"Cook says you have to come and party," she said.

"Is it just Cook that wants me there, or do you want me to come as well?" I replied.

"No, I want you to come."

I could almost visualise her pouting down the phone at me, before she broke into a dirty giggle.

"What?" I asked her.

"I want you to come," she giggled again. "You know, I want you to _come_."

So no fucking contact for eleven days and now I get a drunken fucking booty call. I wanted to tell her to go fuck herself, but my body had other ideas. Naomi fucking herself was not on its agenda. It has somebody else in mind for the job.

"Where are you?" I asked her.

They were at the after party for some big band event in one of the parks in town, but it was Cook who met me at the gate with a pass for me to get in.

"Why Naomi, you're looking lovely tonight," I said sarcastically.

"Chill out," said Cook. "She's out on the floor at the moment, but I promise you when you see her you are going to cream your tiny little panties."

He was right. Cause when I did get into the main marquee, there was Naomi in the middle of the floor, eight feet fucking tall, dressed in a massive crimson ballgown, regency wig and a bodice that pushed her tits up in a most appealing fashion. She glided across the floor, smiling and dancing with the clientele. She looked devastating, and my tiny little panties were toast. Very soggy, wet toast.

"Is she safe up there on those things when she's drunk?" I asked Cook.

"She's not drunk, she's tipsy, and Blondie can do stilts in her sleep," he laughed. "These gigs are fucking boring if you're not a little bit merry."

Naomi spotted us and swept majestically across the tent towards us. She reached out her hand, and I lifted mine to meet her. The moment our fingers touched, I felt the familiar bolts of sexual electricity crackling through my blood. There was no question I had the serious hots for this woman. She leant down and kissed the back of my hand.

"Enchanted, my lady,' she said.

The way she had to keep her hips moving in order to keep her balance on the stilts was starting to make my pussy throb.

"What time do you get off,' I asked her.

"I finish this set in about five minutes, and I'll be getting off as son as I can get my hands on you, baby," she smirked, much to Cook's approval.

There was the Naomi I'd met that first night. I didn't care how crude she was if it meant I was going to get fucked like last time. It would be perfectly fine just to have sex with her. It would be enough.

And sure enough, the sex was great, if not quite as wild as before. The next day Naomi was perfectly friendly until she had to go to work again. We didn't arrange to meet, or make any kind of date, but I already knew she would be calling on me again. I had a handle on it now. If she wanted to be fuckbuddies, then fuckbuddies would be fine, cause I only had to look at her to want to fuck her. And it was good. She got me into cool places, and we had great sex, and even though we usually had enough of a laugh the morning after, I still had enough of my wits about me not to get disappointed when she morphed back into distant Naomi. We spent most of the summer like that. She even got me into festivals for free, and didn't care if I fucked off with other girls when I got there. She knew I would always come running when she called. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the hottest of them all? Naomi Fucking Campbell. Ok, so it wasn't my fairytale, but it was enough.

It was at the end of the summer that things began to change. Just as I was beginning to think about going back to uni, Naomi's workload started to get less intense. She started calling me up more often, and I, fool that I was, was always quick to respond. She seemed to be getting more relaxed about sending me packing afterwards too, and there were moments when I let my guard down, and stated to wonder if there was something more growing between us. But sooner or later she always reverted to type, blowing just as cold as she did hot. I decided it was much better to keep her at arm's length and just enjoy the sex whenever I got the opportunity. With this in mind I'd started taking an interest in a sweet girl called Lucy that I'd bumped into a few times at gigs and parties.

It was a Saturday night, and Naomi was off doing a show somewhere. I was at some cool party in a big old house on the edge of town. One of those ones where they'd really made an effort with fabulous decorations and lighting, and good sound systems. It was one of those nights where you fell yourself getting swept along by the energy of the crowd, and it feels like anything could happen. I'd been drinking cava in the garden and was already on my way to being quite tipsy when I felt my phone vibrating in my bag. I knew that Rich and Grace were coming along, so I fished out my phone in case they'd gotten lost. But it wasn't Grace's name on the caller display, it was Naomi. I frowned at it for a moment. She never usually called me when she was working. I was just about to answer, when I caught sight of Lucy across the room. It was when she smiled back at me that my decision was made for me. I ignored the call from Naomi, shoved my phone back in my back, and headed over towards my new prospect.

We spent the next couple of hours dancing and chatting, and increasingly flirting. It transpired that Lucy hadn't actually slept with a girl before, but it was looking increasingly likely that she was more than willing to give it a try, and that I was going to be the lucky winner. I lured her out onto a balcony that led off one of the upstairs rooms on the thinly veiled excuse of 'getting some air'. Once we got out there, I didn't let go of her hand. Instead I used it to slowly draw her closer to me. I could feel her heart beating furiously as I pulled her into a hug, and the way she was letting our bodies touch all the way down was evidence that she was looking for something more than friendship from tonight. It was the easiest thing in the world to kiss her, and so I did, tasting her sweet eager lips as they sought out my own. The kiss was lovely. She was lovely, and I got an unexpected attack of the warm and fuzzies as we continued our tenderly erotic liplock. I was definitely up for more of this.

"Oh I don't fucking think so," came a calm, but anger laced voice form behind us.

Lucy sprang away from me looking alarmed, but I kept my arms around her and drew her back in. I had recognised the voice instantly, but I didn't get what she had to be so angry about. I held Naomi's steely gaze without saying a word, not wanting to give her the advantage of seeing me flustered.

"You didn't answer my phone call," she said with thunder in her eyes.

"I was busy," I said calmly.

"So I see," she sneered.

"Is there a problem?" asked Lucy, almost cowering against my side from the intimidating woman in front of her.

"There are no problems, only solutions," said Naomi sweetly. "And the solution is you get your dirty hands the fuck away from my girlfriend."

"What?" Lucy and I chorused in unison.

"You heard me," said Naomi, focussing all her attention on Lucy.

"Oh great," said Lucy, pushing me away from her. "She conveniently neglected to mention that she had a girlfriend."

I knew I should have been protesting my innocence and running after her, but I was too stunned that Naomi had called me her girlfriend to move, or even speak. In what fucking universe did she think that what we had been doing constituted a relationship? I started helplessly at Lucy's receding back, watching my chance at escape disappearing in an angry huff.

"She's not much of a fighter then," laughed Naomi, all the tension leaving her body now that her rival was gone

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked her furiously.

"Seeing off the competition," she grinned, but I didn't get it. Naomi had never seemed that bothered about me being with other girls before. She was the one who had told me she was too busy to come to this party with me.

"Fuck you, Naomi," I said, determined not to let her win this time. Determined to find Lucy and make amends.

"Don't," she said, and once again that one simple word was enough to stop me in my tracks.

I didn't turn back towards her, but remained frozen and let out a heavy sigh.

"Don't go," she said, her voice starting to crack.

In spite of myself, I turned to face her, and in that moment I saw for the first time just how very vulnerable she was.

"I missed you," she said, coming forwards and wrapping herself around me.

"I just wanted to fuck you," she said, pressing me back against the wall. "I didn't want you to go away with her. I just wanted to fuck you."

For fuck's sake Naomi. What is it going to take for you just to admit that you're lonely, and that you might just need someone? I slid my arms around her. I just wanted to make the loneliness stop. For both of us. I didn't even try to stop her when she came to kiss me. And once her tongue touched mine, my body took over again and I was powerless to resist her. She pushed me further back against the wall, spreading my legs with one of her own, and the result was the same as always – complete capitulation. I moaned her name as she bit her way across my neck till I could feel her hot breath in my ear.

"I need to be inside you," she said.

What she did to me that night was so far away from fucking it was as if it had come from another world. She had parked her truck up around the back of the house and we went straight there, falling into bed where Naomi undressed me slowly, kissing and caressing every part of me as she went. It was so very different from the lust-fuelled furies of all the other times we had fucked. There was a real tenderness to her actions that I'd never experienced before. I knew I was seeing a side to her, which was seldom, if ever revealed. And if I'm honest, it kind of broke my heart a little the way she touched me that night. It left me wondering why it was so hard for her to let herself go like this. I didn't let it stop me though, and I gave myself to her with my usual lack of restraint.

She held me close as I came down from my orgasm, and those beautiful blue eyes that could run rings around my soul kept flickering round my face as if searching it for answers. I gave what I hoped was the answer she needed in the first of many fine kisses I bestowed on her that night. I allowed myself to feel a connection. When I pushed my long, skilled fingers into her I wasn't just trying to make her come, I was trying to reach her. I knew she had so much to give, if someone could only get through that fucking front of hers. I didn't know if it was going to be me, but for the first time since I met her, I felt brave enough to try. She looked back at me with astonished eyes as I worked my magic to make her feel more than just the physical.

"Jesus, Mini," she gasped, as I continued to increase her pleasure. "What are you doing to me?"

"Loving you," I whispered. "This is what you could have all the time. You just have to let go. You just have to trust me."

"I do," she cried, as a subtle curve of my fingers sent her spiralling into orgasm.

She had never looked so beautiful, never looked so free. Despite the many times I had seen her face contorted with the pleasure of sexual release, this was the first time I had really seen Naomi. And she was wonderful.

I wandered back round to my mum's that next day, oblivious to the insidious drizzle that was soaking my clothes as I walked. I was so happy. The night before had felt like a breakthrough, a momentous shift in our dynamic that had made me think we actually had a shot at a relationship. Mum noticed my smug-assed smile immediately, quizzing me excitedly about the new girl in my life. I should have read the signs when she was just as excited when it turned out I was still with Naomi. I don't know how many times I have had to listen to her optimistically trying to convince me that whatever lame-assed boyfriend she was with at the time was going to turn over a new leaf, and suddenly become the man of her dreams. But stubbornly, foolishly, I remained convinced that I had finally gotten through to Naomi, and she was suddenly going to morph into this wonderful girlfriend I knew she could be. It was only a glimpse, but I had hope. And it was enough.

Instead, she disappeared. Not just figuratively, but literally this time. No phone calls, no texts, no status updates, no fucking confused but extremely hot blonde on my doorstep. After nine days I'd had enough and decided just to turn up at her mum's house and catch her unawares. My heart sank a little when I saw her truck wasn't outside, but at least maybe Gina knew where she was, and I was determined to find answers one way or another.

Gina opened the door with her usual welcoming smile.

"Mini, how lovely to see you," she said delightedly, stepping aside and inviting me in. It made me wonder how such an open woman could have such a closed off daughter. She was already in the kitchen with the kettle on before she gave me the disappointing news.

"If you're looking for Naomi, I'm afraid she's not here," she smiled sympathetically.

"Do you know where she is?" I asked.

"I'm afraid I have absolutely no idea," she shrugged.

"Ok," I sighed. "I'll try Cook."

"He's none the wiser," said Gina, thrusting a mug of tea into my hands. "He's been round here looking for her too."

All the energy seemed to drain from my body, and I sat down at the kitchen table with a heavy thud.

"She does this," said Gina apologetically, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"Does what?" I questioned.

"Fucks off. She came home about a week ago with that look in her eye, and then drove off into the sunset. I haven't seen hide nor hair of her since. She's always done it. Disappeared when things start getting a bit too much for her."

"What's getting too much for her?"

"I think that would be you dear," smiled Gina warmly. "I think you're getting a bit too close, and that terrifies the life out of her. Which is a shame, cause I'd love for her to have someone, and you're such a lovely girl. You never know, maybe she'll be able to sort her head out this time, and not be such a coward."

"So I'm just supposed to wait for her whilst she 'finds herself'?" I spat, immediately feeling guilty for taking my anger out on Gina.

"I think you need to do what's best for you Mini," she said, unfazed by my aggression.

"I guess I just need to work out what that is," I replied, falling into the easy comfort of a Gina Campbell hug.

"I do love my daughter, but she can be a bit of a plonker sometimes," said Gina. "She's ambitious, she's driven, but she's not happy."

And in that moment I realised, neither was I. Naomi Campbell was a fabulous woman, but was she good enough for me?

It was four days later when she tracked me down at an outdoor gathering on the Downs. I'd dropped a pill that Alo had given me and I didn't even care that I was dancing along to hippy guitar and campfire bongos, cause there were plenty of pretty girls dancing along with me. I had gathered myself quite a little posse of dancing partners, and someone had started passing round a bottle of rum. I was in my element, slightly wasted and surrounded by beautiful women. I didn't have a care in the world until I spotted her staring at me from across the fire pit. I didn't go to her, just carried on dancing with a tomboyish girl with tattoos and a purple Mohican, whose hands were currently slithering over my body like liquid mercury.

She continued to stare at me, her eyes almost popping out like Matty on cocaine, but I didn't relent. This time she could come to me. Eventually she did. There was nothing of the anger she'd had in her the last time she'd caught me with another girl. This time her eyes looked like they held more than a hint of fear.

"Can we talk?" she shouted above the bongos and the attentions of the tattooed girl.

"Ok," I relented, kissing my suitor on the cheek, and winking a suggestive 'catch ya later' at her.

"I'm sorry," offered Naomi, once she had dragged us away from the revelry.

"Good," I said, but not unkindly. "You should be."

"I freaked out," she admitted.

"I know," I said. "You've been freaking out ever since I met you."

"Can you forgive me?" she said.

"I do," I said, kissing her gently on the lips.

"Thank God," she said, throwing herself into my arms.

"But I'm not going to sleep with you," I added.

"What?" said Naomi incredulously.

I had let myself become the doormat. I was really going to have to put a stop to that.

"You were right, Naomi," I told her. "We were never really fuckbuddies at all. We were always in a relationship. Only it was a fucked up one, and I don't want to be fucked up any more."

"I don't mean to fuck you up," she pleaded.

"But I let you," I countered.

She had no answer to that.

"I'm Mini McGuinness," I added, whilst pretending I was Emily Fitch. "I could leave here with any one of half a dozen girls. You've yet to give me a reason why it should be you."

"But I…." she stammered.

I gave her the chance to say it, even willed her to say it, but she couldn't.

"You're not ready for love, Naomi," I said. "But I've realised that I am. And you're stopping me from finding her. I may not find her tonight, this month or even this year. But I want to be ready for her when I do, and if I stay with you I'll fuck that up."

"I could try," she offered. "I could change."

"Could you?" I eyed her sceptically. "Could you really?"

The silence that followed and the guilty look in her eyes told me everything I needed to know about what I had to do.

"I wish you well, Naomi," I said. "I really do. You're an amazing woman. I hope you get your funding, and I hope you get to make your big show, and travel the world and are a huge success. You deserve it."

"So you're just going to go back to uni and forget about me?" she asked.

"I am," I said. "I can't just be friends with you. You're too dangerous. I'd only give in to you again."

"Then don't do it," she said. "Don't leave me."

"I have to," I said. "It's not enough."

.

.

.

I snapped myself back out of the memory to look at the photograph in front of me. The last I'd heard of Naomi, she had gotten herself some no mark of a boyfriend, to satisfy her libido whilst she forgot about the fact that she almost let herself fall in love. And yet here before my very eyes was the evidence that not only had the Ice Queen melted, but the Tiger had been tamed. In the next shot they were lying next to one another, all limbs splayed out on a crash mat. They looked exhausted, and they were dressed in scruffy training gear, but they both looked so fucking beautiful, it was easy to see why people were staring so reverently at these pictures. They looked happy. And they looked like they belonged. Now that I'd had a moment to get over the shock, I could see them together. Only Emily was powerful enough to smash through Naomi's defences, and only Naomi was fascinating enough to demand Emily's attention. My God, the earth itself must have shuddered the night that those two got together. I was seized by the overwhelming desire to seek them out, and witness this force in action for real. And maybe bask in a little bit of its reflected glory. But first, I wanted to finish looking at the work. I strolled casually up towards the next photo, but swallowed hard when I realised they were both naked in it. Wait a minute. Was that…? Were they…? Oh Jesus, they're….

I didn't have the time to finish the thought before everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, I'm just gonna give this one out to the triumverate again. You girls are sick (and I mean that in a yoof slang way ;-) )**

**.**

**.**

3. Leeds

As I stood there with my mouth gaping open it felt like someone had turned the temperature in the room up to a hundred degrees. I must have looked a right state, all flushed and sweaty and drooling with my eyes out on stalks, but to be fair I had a reasonable excuse. You would have to be dead not to find that erotic. Two of my ex lovers were kissing as if their kiss could save the world from a terrible disaster. Not only that, they were doing it upside down in mid air whilst being hosed with fluorescent paint. Seriously, if things got any hotter I was going to self-combust. The shock of seeing a photo of them having sex was nothing to the shock of seeing them perform together like that.

When the lights had snapped off, I had shrieked in surprise much like everybody else, but when the light came on the trapeze and music started to swirl around the room it became clear that there was going to be a performance of some kind. But I wasn't expecting a performance like that. I don't think anybody was. Emily and Naomi together on the ground would be spectacular enough, but put them together in the air and they ceased to be a couple and became a phenomenon. It was brutal, yet gorgeous. Visceral and yet incredibly sensual, and most of all it was sexy as fuck. I knew both those bodies. I had touched them outside and in. I had seen their faces as they released themselves into sexual abandon. I had lain satisfied, sweaty and exhausted in their arms.

I watched the aggressive dynamic between them, as the lovers battled their way through their performance, and I recognised the fiery passion that burned in both their eyes. In the heat of the moment I had found that with them too. But in the end when they were too weary to fight anymore, they translated their physical language into love. And that was something I was still yet to find. Is that what happens, I wondered. Do we submit to love when we are finally too tired to bother with our game faces anymore? I fucking hoped so, cause I was fucking exhausted. Emily and Naomi made their descent from the trapeze and took their bows to rapturous applause. When they kissed again, the noise nearly took the roof off, and I screamed along like a schoolgirl too. Even though I was burning, I couldn't resent them for it. It was just too fucking beautiful. What scorched me to the core was the fact that I hadn't found the girl who could make my hungry body learn to speak and understand that language too.

But _she_ had promised me, hadn't she? And I had believed her. I still fucking did. However stupid it seems, I really believed she spoke the truth the night I fell in love.

Jesus Mini, I told myself, stop getting all fucking sentimental. You're going to deal. You're going to say hello to your exes. You're going to tell them that their act was great, and you are very happy for them. Yep, I was going to do all of that, but first I needed a fucking drink. I made my way to the catering table, not waiting politely to be served, but reaching thirstily for the nearest bottle of fizz. Just as my hand was about to reach it, it was whisked away from my grasp.

"Age before beauty, darlin'," laughed a striking older woman, who poured herself a glass, downed half of it and gave herself a refill before chucking the bottle at me. It almost slipped between my fingers. Jesus Christ on a bike. Anthea Fucking Stonem.

I didn't bother with the niceties, downing a huge swig straight from the bottle. How much more of my past was going to regurgitate itself in front of me here tonight?

"Like your style, kiddo," laughed Anthea. "Say, you don't have a note on you do you, sweetheart? Spent all my buggering cash on fags."

"Um, yeah," I mumbled nervously, even though it was clear she didn't have a clue who I was. But then again why would she? It wasn't like I meant anything to her.

"Well come on then," she said. "I'll give you a line for the lend of the note."

She took us off to an office at the back of the gallery and I followed on meekly behind. I had learnt the hard way that you don't argue with Anthea Stonem. My heart was already fucking racing as she started to rack out a couple of lines. This cocaine was going to fucking kill me. But I needed it. If Anthea was here did that mean that Effy was here too? I didn't think I could handle that. Anthea hoovered up her line and handed me back my rolled up tenner with a satisfied grin.

"You look familiar," she said. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

I was definitely having a nose up before I answered that. I felt the drug hit my bloodstream almost immediately and I was grateful for the rush, sniffing to make sure I took advantage of every little bit. I was going to need every ounce of bravado in a moment.

"Yeah, you do know me," I said. "You threw me out of your daughter's hotel room once."

.

.

.

I had gone north to visit Grace. Ever since all that hoohah with her dad over her not wedding she had become fierily independent (apart from being practically welded to Rich, of course). She had finished her exams like a good girl, but instead of going on to uni or drama school, she had auditioned straight away for a physical theatre company and gotten the job. They were apparently pretty well regarded and she got seen by a few of the right people, and has been working fairly steadily ever since. This time she was involved in a site-specific project in some big old abandoned warehouse up in Leeds. I remember she was very excited about going to do it, cause it was being directed by some radical woman who everybody was raving on about as the next big thing in British Theatre. I had to admit I had all my youthful know-it-all cynicism blown away when I saw their first night. It was a piece about civil disorder and asked all sorts of questions about the difference between strong government and totalitarianism, rioting and protest, terrorism and justifiable insurgency. And it was fucking fantastic, visually powerful and genuinely exciting. It certainly didn't pull any punches, and Grace was doing all kinds of extreme shit I'd never have expected to see my prim little college pal doing. It was the kind of thing I would have summararily dismissed in my HBIC days as freakish weird and way too alternative. Now my first thought was how much I loved it. And my second was how much Franky would have loved it.

Yes, I allowed myself to think about her now. Now that I knew what all that stupid 'girlcrush' bullshit had really been about. Sometimes, I even used to imagine she was with me as I went on my adventures, and we could laugh together about how different my life had become from the one I had been expecting.

After the show there was a first night party in the warehouse, and whilst I was waiting for Grace to get changed I had the dubious pleasure of listening to Anthea Stonem pontificating to a bunch of her admirers. If there's one thing you could say about Anthea, it's that she knows her own mind, and she's not shy about letting you know about it either. She had an opinion on everything, and it was either scathing of celebratory. Indecision and the middle of the road didn't seem to exist for her, and I admired her for it, even if she was more than a little bit scary. Other members of the cast and crew started drifting in after cleaning up, and things started warming up a bit, but I still couldn't take my eyes off Anthea. That woman knew how to own a room.

But then I felt it. A tingling sensation in the hairs on the back of my neck. That inexplicable warning sign that lets us know when we're being watched. Something left over from our ancestry when life was a much more hazardous place to be, I guess. The sensation was so strong, I turned around convinced I was going to see Grace standing right behind me. There was no-one there, but the sensation was just as intense. And then I saw her. A girl sitting alone on a sofa, totally isolated from the room, the event and the people in it. She was staring at me. It wasn't an eyefuck or any other kind of come on. She was just staring at me. She didn't even look away when she saw that I had clocked her. Any other time I would have been straight over there to ask what the bitch's problem was, or to try to get in her pants if she was fit. But this girl had me paralysed. It wasn't like she wasn't fit. She was stunning. Long gorgeously messy brown hair, hypnotic blue eyes and a raggedly effective sense of style. But she unnerved me. There was something in her eyes that set her apart from the rest of us. Like she didn't belong here. I didn't know what else to do other than stare right back at her. I'd never had such long eye contact with someone without, you know, actually making contact. Her eyes were some kind of singularity, like if you got too close you'd get sucked in and never be able to make it out again.

I honestly don't know what would have happened if Grace hadn't burst into the room and rushed up to give me an enthusiastic hug. She pulled me back into the thick of things, asking me what I thought of the show, and introducing me to all her new friends. I had a few drinks and forgot about the mysterious stranger for a while. But my brain kept drawing me back to check up on her. She didn't move from that sofa all night, and every time I looked at her she was watching someone. She didn't engage, she didn't emote, she just fucking stared. And if anyone was actually brave enough to try to chat her up, she just looked at them pityingly until they went away. The only time I even caught any movement in her face was when she turned to look right at me when I was staring at her, and she knew that I knew I had been made. She smirked at me, and I felt like I was stark bollock naked in the middle of the room.

"Who is that girl?" I asked myself under my breath, but the boy standing next to me still heard.

"The freaky one?" he laughed. "That's Effy, Anthea's daughter. I think she's a bit, you know, loolah."

He made a circle with his finger around his temple, indicating that Effy was not quite right in the head. I frowned at him, and when I turned back round to face the sofa, she was gone.

Of course she had seen it. All she fucking does is see things. I was seized by the sudden urge to run after her and apologise and I gave in to the impulse. I always used to be such a bitch to outsiders, but that was because I was terrified that deep down I knew I was one myself. Now I recognised them as kin. I ran out of the bar, but where to start? This fucking warehouse was five storeys high, and majorly fucking creepy in the semi darkness, I can tell you. I searched all the places I remembered going during the performance, jumping out of my skin at every little noise, but there was no sign of her. I stood hesitating on the stairwell that would have led me back to the bar where the party was happening. Up or down? Maybe I should go down. She's probably just nipped out for a fag or something. No, Mini, stupid. It was a private party now, which meant she could do what the fuck she liked, and she had been chain smoking on that sofa for hours. I shut my eyes and trusted to instinct. Up. Something told me to go up. Start on the top floor and work my way down, and if I didn't find her, I'd give up and go back to the party. I climbed the stairwell all the way to the top, where I noticed a door banging in the wind. It led outside. I didn't even think twice. I went through it.

She was standing on the wall that ran round the edge of the roof, looking out over the city beyond. The wind was blowing her long hair around her, and she looked so suddenly fragile. Almost like a child. I froze, not wanting to startle her and make her slip.

"Right choice," she said without looking round at me.

Jesus fuck, was she a bloody mindreader or something?

"That guy was a tosser," I blurted out.

"Maybe," she shrugged. "But he was right."

She looked down over the edge. Oh God, she looked like she was going to jump.

"It would be so easy," she said, taking one foot off the wall. "Just a simple step and it would be done. But it would hurt her so much, and I don't want to do that."

"Hurt who?" I asked her, desperate to keep her talking

"Anthea,' she replied. "She loves me so much. You'd think she'd just want me to be at peace, but I guess it doesn't work like that."

"I guess it doesn't," I agreed.

That's right, Mini. Say the first inane thing that comes into your head. That's really going to help.

"Do you want to fuck me?" she said.

"What!" I spluttered in disbelief, but she just stared at me, demanding an answer.

I considered lying, but what good would it do me? She would only know the real answer anyway. And the truth was that even though my current energies were entirely consumed by trying to stop her jumping off a building, I did want her. Of course I did, she was beautiful. A fucking mess, but a beautiful mess. But what was the right answer? The one that would make her stay? Of all the questions I had ever been asked in the whole of my life, this was the most important one.

"Yes," I said quietly, lowering my eyes for a moment.

When I raised them again, she was smiling at me. It was the first time Id seen her smiling all night. It was the most wonderful smile in the world.

"Good," she said casually, jumping back off the wall onto the roof. "My hotel's only a couple of streets away. Let's go."

We didn't talk or touch all the way back to the hotel, but as soon as she clicked the door to the room shut behind her, she grabbed my hand and pulled me back towards her. Her first kiss was scorching, needy, ravenous, her hands already grabbing at my hair. I pushed her back against the door and came back for more, reaching my tongue into her mouth and tasting her heat. Effy was certainly a willing sinner, little moans escaping her throat at the forcefulness of my attentions, her body arching towards mine repeatedly. But as my knickers began to flood at the thought of fucking her, unwelcome thoughts began to flood into my brain. Thoughts that I was a bad person, taking advantage of a sick woman to satisfy my own selfish lusts. The thought grew in my brain till it was strangling me, and I pulled away in dismay.

"It's ok, it's ok," said Effy, reading my mind again. "You're not doing anything wrong. I need this."

Still I hesitated, breathing heavily, my head doing battle with my body. Suddenly Effy's body language changed, and the cold blue dullness in her eyes ignited with dark and dangerous fire. In an instant the pale and vulnerable girl I had encountered of the roof had transformed herself into some kind of sexual she-wolf. She was so fucking ludicrously hot my conscience was being incinerated where I stood.

"Don't tell me you're not going to make good on your promise, Mini," she growled.

What?

"How the fuck do you know my name?" I gasped.

"I make it my business to know," she purred, running her finger down the valley between my breasts. One more look was all it took for me seize her mouth with mine again. A look that dared me to defy her, something I realised I simply couldn't do. Another useful thing that Emily taught me. Never break a promise to a lady.

This new dark vision of desire before me turned the key. The key that scared little virgin Mini had kept so well hidden for so long. The key that Emily Fitch had found and unleashed the consequences on an unsuspecting world. The key that released the beast that lurked within the beauty. I knew that Effy's beauty hid a similar beast. I had just seen it come to life. On some subconscious level I had recognised her, and knew what she needed from me. Time to give the lady what she wants.

I forced her back against the door, pinning her arms above her head and kissing her hard, barely leaving her room to breathe.

"Oh God yes,' she whispered as I attacked her neck, her body's rhythmic thrusts against mine already asking me to be inside her, to fuck her. I slid my arms down to meet her bra-less breasts, squeezing them through the thin fabric of her dress. It's a sensation I'll never grow tired of, the feel of a woman's tits in my hands, and the way I can make her moan and gasp with my touch. I watched Effy's face, her eyes half closed and her lips parted as she arched those beautiful tits further into my grasp. She was turning me on so much, and though it was hard to tear myself away from her boobs, I knew I wanted to fuck her, and fuck her hard, and I was going to do it right here up against this door. We hadn't even made it to the light switch, but I could see her smile just fine in the orange glow of the streetlights as I went down on my knees to remove her boots.

"Right here, baby?" she asked me, reaching down to grab a handful of my hair.

"Right here," I assured her, pulling down her knickers and her tights in one go.

I threw them behind my head once she stepped out of them, and kissed and licked my way back up her legs, her stomach, her breasts and her neck, not stopping until I was looking straight into her eyes, knowing I wanted to see her when I penetrated her. I wanted to fuck her in her dress. There's nothing quite so fine in all the world as putting your hand up a woman's dress and finding a welcoming wet pussy waiting there for you. I slid my fingers down across her clit and hovered just outside her entrance, wanting to see just how crazy I could make her for me.

Her hips gave me my answer as they strained and bucked against me, begging to feel the sensation of me inside her.

"Jesus Mini, fuck me, just fuck me," she said throatily, but still I held off. My eyes were on fire, and I was drunk on the power of having such a beautiful woman needing me so much. I stared at her exquisite face, wanting to capture this moment and this feeling forever, teasing her as I kept her on the brink. But Effy was not just a passive participant in this process. Her hands had worked their way under my top and were stroking the flesh of my back. Her blue eyes flared with such black magic I was almost on the phone to CERN to tell them I'd discovered dark matter.

"I thought you were going to fuck me," she said, digging her nails into my skin, and tearing them all way down my back.

"Fuck," I cried out as the pain cut into my adrenalin soaked awareness and forced me even higher. My body bucked and I thrust my fingers hard inside her.

"Yesss," she hissed, her hands sliding down to my butt, knowing that once she had me inside her, I was never getting out until I had satisfied her.

"Fuck me, you're so beautiful. You're so fucking beautiful," I cried out as I fucked her frantically. And in that moment she really was the most beautiful thing I had ever known. The feel of her wetness surrounding me and demanding my hand was so glorious, I would have done anything for her. Fortunately, what she needed me to do for her, was fuck her without mercy until she came, and I was really, really good at that. I slammed her back into the door again and again, each time trying to get just that little bit deeper into her, and she clung to me trying to achieve the same end. I could feel the energy building in her and it drove me even more insane. I lifted her up until she had her legs wrapped round me, and rammed myself into her as hard as I could.

"Oh fuck," she cried, clinging onto me so tight I thought my bones were going to crack, and I felt her walls tighten around me and her puusy grip onto me for dear life.

"Effy," I whispered in her ear as me rode out her orgasm. "Effy, Effy, Effy."

Saying her name over and over again was all that I could do. For everything in the world was Effy right now. Even though I was the one doing the fucking, I was the one who had been consumed.

Neither of us said a thing as I slowly pulled out of her and lowered her back down to the ground. We just stood there, our bodies still pressed impossibly close, struggling to catch our breath. I couldn't speak. I couldn't bear to break the moment. In truth I was scared to, for even in the furious depths of that riotous bloody shag I had felt something I had never felt before. I had felt touched, I had felt needed, I had felt… loved.

In the end it was Effy that broke the silence, and what she said completely destroyed me. She said thank you. My heart fully shattered at her words.

"Um, you're welcome," I offered feebly, causing Effy to burst out laughing. She had such a lovely laugh.

"You're funny, Mini McGuiness," she said.

"Look, how the fuck do you know my name?" I said.

She looked at me with that fucking mysterious smirk thing, but then she relented.

"Grace hasn't shut up about you all week,' she laughed again. "She was so excited that you were coming to see her show. Bigging you up no end, she was. It intrigued me. I wanted to see if you lived up to your press."

"And do I?" I asked, daring to look at her again. I had been right about those eyes. There was no risk of escape.

"I'd call it a resounding yes," smiled Effy. "Now why don't I take you to bed and give you a proper thank you?"

And that, ladies and gentlemen is the absolute epitome of an offer you cannot refuse.

If I thought it was going to be as wild and aggressively filthy as our recent encounter, I couldn't have been further wrong. Effy made love to me as if there were tiny words etched into my skin and it was of vital importance that she read and understand every one. She rolled me onto my stomach and worked her way down my spine with her teeth and her tongue as if each one of my vertebrae was a delicious gourmet dish that needed to be tasted and savoured with absolute relish. She licked the blood from the wounds she had inflicted on me, and kissed them softly better.

"Isn't that a little dangerous?" I asked her. "You don't know me. I could have anything.'

"Aren't you forgetting that I have a deathwish?" she replied.

"Don't joke about that," I frowned.

In the silence that followed, I realised she wasn't joking at all. But she seemed so different now. Ever since we'd had sex she seemed like a different woman – focussed, attentive, intelligent and caring. My heart smiled at the thought that I might really have been able to give her something that she needed. And when she rolled me over and started to pay her delicate attentions to my breasts, I never wanted her to stop. Like ever. Like as in beyond the end of time. I was a hopeless mess, and she hadn't even got anywhere near my cunt.

"Effy," I gasped as she raked her nails across my stomach, much more gently this time.

"You're kind of sparkly," she said.

"Say what?" I said, releasing the sharp intake of breath her actions had forced me to inhale.

"I've trying to get a handle on your colour, but I can't manage it," she said, kissing me on the belly where her fingers had just been. "It's like you're refractive. There's a whole rainbow in here."

She pulled herself back up my body and kissed me just above my heart.

"It's rather fucking beautiful," she added. "I haven't felt this free in a long time."

I didn't have a clue what she was on about, but my body didn't exactly seem to care, undulating wildly beneath her and covering her leg with an embarrassingly large amount of my juices. She smiled at the liquid contact and at what it implied.

"I think I need to taste you now," she said softly.

My legs were already spreading themselves open for her quicker than a whore on overtime before she kissed her way down to my thighs. She spread my lips with her hands and looked adoringly at my clit, before arching a cheeky eyebrow back up at me.

"I'm gonna enjoy this," she said, causing relay teams of shivers coursing through my muscle fibres. She leaned in but stopped just shy of her destination. Close enough that I could feel her breath flowing over my already sensitive nerves. It felt fucking amazing. Christ, if this was what she could do to me with just her breath, what the fuck was she going to be able to do to me with her tongue?

"Oh. My. Fucking. God," I said hoarsely, my hands already balling the sheets up in my fists at the very first tender touches of her tongue. Only seconds later I was already completely helpless, as she elegantly tortured me with a series of light flicks against my clit. Boiling hot flashes started searing through my blood as she spread her tongue flatter against me, increasing the pressure and range of her strokes. I understood why she had loved the way that I'd fucked her so much, as I found myself wanting to give myself completely over to her control. I broke out into a heavy sweat, and my body turned into a perpetual motion machine of rolling waves beneath her as she picked up her pace, deftly flicking her tongue from side to side. I threaded my hands through her hair to push her even closer to me, but I had to relinquish my hold almost immediately, to dig my elbows into the mattress to steady myself when she changed direction again and my body nearly flew right off the fucking bed. Effy was so skilful. Each twist and turn of her tongue producing new and almost unbearably divine sensations not only between my legs, but also in the wildly beating organ in the centre of my ribcage. I thought I was going to actually explode from too much passion when she slipped her fingers inside of me as well. She held me down with her free hand as she fucked me and licked me like it was the only thing that mattered to her in the world. It was certainly the only thing that mattered to me when the blinding white light of my orgasm burned my brain behind my tightly shut eyes. I came so hard I feared for the safety of the building, and before the last of my screams had stopped ringing in my ears, my heart had absorbed one clear absolute truth. I was in love with Effy Stonem.

I must have zoned right out, because I was barely conscious when I felt her lips on mine and the taste of my own juices on her tongue.

"Fucking hell, Effy," I murmured. "That's one hell of a way to say thank you."

"You're welcome," she said, teasingly echoing my earlier lame reply.

"You do realise I'm going to have to say thank you for that thank you," I said.

"This could go on all night," she smirked.

"I don't have a problem with that,' I grinned.

She slid off me to lay down beside me as I clearly wasn't up to any vigourous thank yous just yet. I rolled on my side to face her. I traced my fingers absent-mindedly up and down her arm as I stared adoringly at her face. She really was the most breathtaking thing I had ever seen, but I watched as her blue eyes slid from self satisfaction into sadness. She tucked a strand of hair behind my ear with infinite tenderness.

"I suppose it's too late to ask you not to fall in love with me," she said.

From anyone else it would have been extreme arrogance, but from Effy I already knew it just weary past experience.

"Does everybody fall in love with you?" I asked.

"You must know how it feels," she said. "Everybody wants to fuck you cause you're so 'beautiful'."

She said the word 'beautiful' with such contempt, it felt like being stabbed.

"But nobody really sees you at all," she continued.

I knew the kind of attention someone like Effy must get, and how it must drive her mad, in her case possibly literally. But I couldn't be a cynic, not tonight. Not after the things she had made me feel.

"You see me," I said.

"I do," she said, cupping my face with one hand and letting her thumb run across my cheek. "But I can't help you. I'm too sick to give you what you need."

"I don't mind if you're sick," I said, reaching up to cover her hand with mine, but she pulled it away.

"Don't," she said sadly. "I'd destroy you. I destroy everyone that loves me, and I don't want to do that with you."

"So this," I said, gesturing between us. "This meant nothing to you."

"I didn't say that," she whispered. "I'm just not the one for you. But you will find her. I promise."

"But you made me feel," I protested.

"I know," she soothed. "You made me feel too. And you have no idea how special that is."

I shut my eyes in frustration, praying to several deities I didn't believe in that when I opened them again, that terrible sadness that I saw in her would be gone. But the truth remained the same.

"Whoever she is," said Effy. "She's a very, very lucky lady."

"Are you sure it can't be you?" I asked, wanting to eat up that sadness for her.

"I'm sure," she said. The certainty in her eyes was absolute.

"Can we pretend that it can?" I whispered. "Just for tonight?"

Effy's eyes searched mine for what seemed like an eternity, but whatever it was she found there seemed to satisfy her.

"Ok," she said, and kissed me.

The next time we fucked, we came together, wrapped almost indistinguishably around and inside each other, staring into each other's eyes as we made the connection. We fucked again several more times after that, each time just as intense as the time before. I didn't want it to end, didn't want to fall asleep because I knew that when I woke up, everything would be different. The first time I jerked awake after falling into an inevitable slumber, she was still there, clinging onto me so tightly in her sleep, I began to hope that she was wrong and we could find a way to come out of this night together.

The second time I woke I was alone in the bed. My eyes and limbs automatically started searching the sheets for her.

"Effy," I called out for her, trying to blink my eyes back into focus before scanning the rest of the room. She was sitting on the window ledge in her dress, her knees drawn up towards her body and her arms wrapped tightly round them. The window was wide open, and she was perched precariously on the edge, looking out. Of a hotel window. The ones that are fixed so you can't open them the whole way. With good reason. We were on the tenth fucking floor. My eyes shot to the carpet beneath the window to see the discarded locking mechanism that Effy had clearly dismantled.

"Effy," I called again, and she turned to face me. But this was not my sweet, gorgeous and infinitely wise Effy from the night before. It wasn't even the coolly emotionless mystery girl from the party. This Effy looked terrified.

"What's wrong?" I asked, making a move to get out of bed and go to her.

"STOP!" she shrieked at me, before adding a much gentler apology.

"What is it?" I said, frozen to the spot. "I want to help."

"They won't let you,' she said. "I'm not supposed to be for you. They're angry at me for letting myself go like that."

"Who's angry with you, Effy?" I asked her. "There's no one here.'

"The voices. And they're always here. They're always in here," she said, knocking her fist against her head as if trying to dislodge something. "Except you made them go away for a bit and now they're really pissed off with me. They say I don't deserve you, and I'm not supposed to have you, and if I let you come near me they're going to make me jump."

Fuck, she really wasn't messing around when she said that she was sick.

"Should I get a doctor?" I asked her.

"I don't want to go back to the hospital. I don't want to go back to the hospital," she chanted as if saying it enough times would make the hospital go away. I was worried that she'd get so upset she would fall.

"It's ok. It's ok," I tried to sooth her. "No doctors."

"How can such a bad thing feel so good?" she asked. "Did it feel like a bad thing to you?"

"No," I answered. "It was a beautiful thing."

"Then why are you trying to punish me?" she screamed.

I knew she was screaming at the things in her head and not at me, but it was still fucking scary, and I cast my eyes about the room searching for ideas on what to do next. I spotted Effy's phone on the bedside table. She had thrown it there the night before after texting her mum to let her know she was alright last night. At the time I had found it endearing that a grown woman in her twenties would feel the need to do that, but in the light of this morning's events everything became much clearer. Anthea wasn't just her mum, she was her guardian and her carer. I grabbed the phone and started flicking through the contacts under M, panicking when I came up empty. I stared at the machine helplessly, before smacking my head at my own stupidity. So not Effy's style. I scrolled back to A and found her almost immediately.

"Morning sweetheart," came Anthea's cigarette rough voice. "Good night? How'd it go with the hot blonde. She looked like she was a bit of a goer."

"Um," I stuttered in shock. "This is the, um…hot blonde. I'm in Effy's room and um…. Something's not right. I think you need to come here."

The line went dead before she even replied, and less than a minute later the door burst open. I'd barely had enough time to pull on my bra and pants, and I stood half naked in the room in front of a seething Anthea. It hardly mattered though. She only had eyes for Effy, as she flew towards the windowsill, pulled her to safety, and held her shaking daughter in her arms. It was only then that she turned her fearsome attention on me, and if looks could kill, I would have been obliterated.

"What did you do to her?" she fumed.

"Nothing,' I protested. "We just…"

I hesitated for a minute out of instinct, but Anthea was clearly fine with Effy's sexuality if she was making jokes about 'hot blondes' with her.

"I mean, we made love,' I continued. "And it was beautiful. But when I woke up she was like this.'

"Well that's a fucking lie," spat Anthea. "Effy doesn't make love, she has sex. She's on drugs that suppress her emotions. Did you hurt her? Cause if you did, I will rip your fucking face off with my bare hands."

"I'd never hurt her," I protested. "I love her."

"You met her last night, you fucking bimbo," said Anthea scathingly. "You don't even know her at all."

I wanted to explain to her, to beg her to understand what had happened between me and Effy. To beg her to let me stay and help. But Anthea was fuelled by the righteous rage of a protective mother.

"Get out,' she hissed menacingly, before turning to comfort her daughter, who was hiding from the wrath of her own fucked up head in the arms of the one person she knew she could rely on. Her warrior mother.

"Effy," I called plaintively, not wanting it to end like this.

"Get the fuck out,' warned Anthea. "Don't make me come over there."

I couldn't fight her, and Effy was in no state to plead my case, so I pulled on the rest of my clothes and headed to the door with tears streaming down my face.

"Mini," I heard Effy's weakened voice behind me as I walked out of the room. I turned back to see her powerful blue eyes had momentarily regained their clarity.

"You will find her," she said with utter conviction.

"You'll find her too," I said, hoping to God that one day Effy would be able to find her way out of this mess.

"Promise?" she asked me.

"I promise," I said, before Anthea slammed the door in my face.

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"I didn't do anything bad to her, you know," I said, suddenly realising I was in a confined space with a very fierce woman who hated me.

"I know," sighed Anthea. "I didn't realise she was as sick as she was. I thought she was getting better. Turns out she was just getting better at hiding it from me. And you might want to pay attention because this doesn't happen very often."

"What doesn't?" I frowned.

"I'm sorry," said Anthea. "I have done you a great disservice. I didn't know Effy was relapsing, and I thought it had to have been something you did that sent her of the edge whereas, as it turns out, you probably saved her life."

"You what?" I said, stunned.

"After I got her back to her doctor, got her a new drug regime, and she finally settled down, she told me the truth about you two. That if it wasn't for you she would have jumped. Both times."

"You're shitting me," I said without thinking.

"I shit you not. So come on. I think we need a refill, don't you?"

"So how's she doing?" I asked as we re-entered the crowded gallery.

"Well, clearly much better," replied Anthea, gesturing around the room.

I stared about me in confusion, wondering what was supposed to be so clear. Anthea picked up on it.

"Blondie, where do you think you are?" she asked me.

"Some art thing," I shrugged. "My mate dragged me along. He said there'd be free booze and fit girls.

Anthea laughed out loud.

"Well that's all most art openings are any good for,' she said.

"But this one's really good,' I said. "Really good. This woman is obviously very talented."

"This is Effy's work," said Anthea proudly. "She got well. She's working. She's making excellent art. She's coming off medication. She's getting more stable, and she's happy."

"Wow, what happened?" I said incredulously. "She seemed so lost."

"Someone found her," replied Anthea. "She met a girl. A woman, really. A champion amongst women. A titan. A dirty little street fighter with the biggest heart of gold you could imagine. She's tough, but she's also one of the kindest people I know. She took Effy in with absolutely no thought of getting in her pants. She just wanted to care for her. But then they fell in love. And she's strong enough to cut through Effy's bullshit. And so fucking loyal. The things she's been through for her. Stood by her through a load of fucking shit. And they love each other so much. She makes Effy so much stronger, and she made her believe in herself again."

"She sounds amazing.'

"She is," said Anthea almost reverently. "I want to kiss her every time I see her. She brought my baby back from the darkness."

So it seemed that my promise had been kept. Effy had found her girl. So where the fuck was mine?

"Does she have a sister?" I said wearily.

"Actually she does," laughed Anthea. "A drop dead gorgeous gay one too. Unfortunately, she's taken."

"Aren't they always," I sighed.

"Look, there's Effy's angel now," said Anthea pointing across the room. My eyes widened in shock as they landed on a very powerful looking woman. A woman in a burgundy dress.

"Katie Fitch?" I scoffed in disbelief. "Katie Fucking Fitch? No way. Katie Fitch? Seriously?"

"You know her?" said Anthea, intrigued.

"Well actually I'm more familiar with her drop dead gorgeous gay sister," I admitted.

"You've done Little Red?" laughed Anthea, punching me in the arm. "Get in Blondie, you minx."

"Ow," I said.

"Ow," I repeated, when the first one didn't gain any sympathy.

"So why the surprise?" said Anthea, rolling her eyes at my dramatics.

"When I knew Katie she wasn't anything like the woman you described. She was selfish, and bitchy and um…(I was going to say slutty, but I didn't want to offend the woman who clearly thought the sun shone out of Katie's arse) um, sexually active…"

"So she grew up," shrugged Anthea.

"Also, she was really, REALLY straight.'

"It's Effy," smiled Anthea. "She could make a brick wall fall in love with her."

"Yes she could," I agreed.

So Effy was the artist, and Katie Fitch was her aerialist. And Katie Fitch made her happy, which was all that really mattered at the end of the day. It wasn't long before Anthea was swamped with people wanting to talk to her as ever, and I was left alone with my contemplations. Three ex-lovers, each one of them happily partnered and magically transported beyond themselves. Emily, who gave me everything I wanted in a lover, but who wouldn't let it last. Naomi, who wouldn't allow herself to love me, even though she so desperately wanted to be loved. And Effy, who thought she wasn't good enough to love me. For Emily, love was all about the moment. For Naomi, it was just a social construct to placate the masses that she allegedly didn't believe in. And for Effy it was the harbinger of doom. Yet all of them had found someone who had proved them wrong. Even Katie Fitch, the emotional ugly ducking had transformed into an angel. I had always believed in love, wanted it, craved it even, yet here I was alone. What did I have? What the fuck did…

"Greetings fabulous Minerva," grinned the lanky ginger nutcase as he spring into my field of vision. "How goes the night with you?"

Well at least I had Alo, who never failed to make me smile.

"What's up, Mins?" he asked me. "You were looking like you'd seen a ghost there."

"Two or three," I said. "This room appears to be littered with my exes."

"Well that's what ya get for being so damn foxy, Mins," he laughed. "Wish I could get as many girls as you."

"Well maybe I could give you some lessons," I winked, putting my game face on and neglecting to tell him that I'd give up all the pussy in the world just to find a girl who could really love me.

"That's the spirit. Let's leave the past behind," he said, doing a ridiculous mime of throwing things over his shoulder. "What's on the menu for tonight? Spotted anyone tasty?"

"Well, one of the waitresses is quite cute," I admitted.

"Minerva, Minerva," Alo scolded. "Don't sell yourself short. Why go for 'quite cute' when you could go for 'fit as fuck' or 'rocks my world' or even 'love of my life'?"

"Oh so you've upped your criteria from 'anything with a pulse'? You're an idiot, Farmboy. I'm not going to find the love of my life tonight."

"Not so pessimistic, sweetcheeks. You never know. The night is but young. Just saying."

He was doing an excited little dance like he was expecting her to pop up in a puff of smoke any second now.

"Well if you see her, can you tell her to wear a name badge or something?" I said.

"If she's the love of your life, you're gonna know, Mins" he laughed.

"Whatever," I huffed.

Maybe I should just go and start working on the waitress. I was just starting to cast my eyes around the room to see if I could spot her, when the lights went out again. I looked round expectantly, searching for evidence of another performance. Maybe Katie was going to do something for her love? But then the spotlight came up on Cook, all dressed up like the devil. I had to laugh at his little speech. He certainly made a handsome looking Prince of Darkness.

"Welcome to Effyland," he announced, and the room was bathed in light. Projections erupted over all four walls of the gallery and all the people in it. Colours and images danced and swirled all around us, and I span round on my heels trying to take it all in. I laughed out loud when Angel Katie started to fly around our heads, though I had to admit she looked stunning. Other people's reactions were just as thrilled and childlike as my own as Effy's work drew them into another dimension and continued to surprise and delight them. As it went on I realised this was Effy showing us the world as she saw it. This was what she meant when she said I was refractive. It was obviously a much more beautiful place these days than when I had known her. But more than that, this was her love song to Katie, and I was simultaneously moved and torn apart by the terrible beauty of it. She wasn't for you, I told myself as jealousy threatened to eviscerate me. So who the bastard bloody fucking cocking hell was? You promised me, Effy. You promised me I'd find her.

But in the very next instant Effy was elevated from lying fucking bitch to actual worshipable deity in my mind, as my heart lurched exactly as it had the first time. Cause that's when I saw her, standing alone in the middle of the room with her arms spread out wide. She was completely absorbed in the installation, letting it wash over her and drinking it all in without reservation.

Franky. My Franky. The love of my fucking life. I was going to kill that fucking ginger bastard when I got my hands on him. After I'd kissed him to within an inch of his life, of course. He must have known she was going to be here. He had totally set me up.

I just watched her for a minute or two, totally fascinated by her reaction to Effyland. She had always loved art so much. It was the one thing that had saved her during the darkest times of her life. Much like Effy, I supposed. And I had grown from some kind of shallow bitch into the woman I am today because of Franks. Much like Katie. Maybe that's why I had been so drawn to Effy in the first place? She hadn't been my one, but she'd reminded me of her.

Franky had changed. She no longer needed to be invisible now she had entered an alternative world. She had the confidence to stand arms akimbo in the middle of a crowded room regardless of the attention it might earn her. The look she had been experimenting with at college was now perfected. She was wearing a bright red suit and a drawstring tie, and she looked sharp as fuck. She smiled so easily, and it reached her beautiful eyes. It looked like Franky had escaped the boring losers who were so terrified of outsiders they could hardly look us in the eye as they struggled to prove that they were better than us. She was finally comfortable with who she was.

And so was I. I wasn't the scared little bitch virgin any more. I was Mini the Minx, and I was gay as a fucking window. And I was going to get my girl.

Despite the butterflies in my stomach, I knew exactly what I was doing. I walked up to her from behind, and slipped one arm around her waist and slid the other along her outstretched arm. She didn't flinch. She was so high on the spirit of Effyland, she was willing to share it with a stranger without question. I stood behind her, lightly pressing her body against my own as Effy's colours danced around us and Angel Katie flew on by. I could have sworn at one point that her image actually gave me a wink, but then the sounds of a gospel choir swelled in my ears, and I felt like singing my own hallelujahs for this moment. I could have stayed like that forever, lost in this delicate embrace, but I knew that it was time to make my move.

"Hello gorgeous," I said softly in her ear, rolling my Scottish R to maximum benefit. "Guess who?"

"Mini?" she gasped, spinning round in my arms. It was instinctive for both of us when we threw ourselves into an each other's arms. I closed my eyes and breathed her in, my body set on fire by the contact. I swear I must have been grinning like an idiot, but I didn't care. This was the best fucking moment of my life. So far…

"I've missed you," said Franky, and my heart exploded, reassembled itself and exploded a second time.

"Me too, honey,' I said. "Me too.'

I stood there for a moment more, savouring every millimetre of contact, and remembering how good it felt to hold her tiny fragile body against my own. I suddenly understood the way that Naomi had looked at Emily in that picture like she wanted to protect her, comfort her and shag her all at the same time. But suddenly Franky squeezed me harder, and I knew I wasn't going to settle for BFF's this time. I pulled back and looked her in the eye, smiling warmly at her as I did so.

"I'd forgotten how small you were," I said, stroking her cheek with the backs of my fingers. "You're going to have to find a box to stand on."

"What?" frowned Franky. "When?'

I let my lips lightly graze her cheek where my hand had just been as I moved them across towards her ear.

"When I kiss you," I purred in my best seductive style.

I heard her draw in a sharp breath before she pulled away. Her hands still clung to mine, but she was staring frantically around the room. Oh fuck, did she have a partner? Oh fuck it, I decided I didn't actually care.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

She stopped and looked up at me. A sly and saucy grin began creeping across her face, causing an immediate chain reaction in my knickers.

"Looking for a box," she grinned.

My smile has always been considered one of my best features, but I don't think I'd ever graced the universe with as big a smile as I did right then.

"Fuck the box," I said, and pulled her lips to mine.

She kissed me back. She kissed me back, and we slid from lips to tongues to passion in a matter of moments. I wanted to laugh at Alo's nickname for me, cause I certainly felt like a goddess as I kissed my beloved Franky in the delicious maelstrom of Effyland. Although maybe a fallen one, cause I was definitely no virgin.

"I want to make love to you, Franky," I said during a break for air.

"Good," she said, looking me over appreciatively before dragging me back into an even fiercer kiss. We didn't stop or even blink an eye when the lights came up and the crowd around us roared. If I had my way, we wouldn't stop kissing until beyond the end of time. In my head the crowd were cheering for me, cause I had finally found my love.

Thank you ladies, you've been wonderful. It's been an eventful journey, but finally I've come home.

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**Thank you ladies and gents, it's been an eventful story, but now I'm off to party in Ibiza. Hasta lluego…**

**Hypes xx**


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